AIMS This study compared the efficacy and safety of intravenous dofetilide with amiodarone and placebo in converting atrial fibrillation or flutter to sinus rhythm. METHODS AND RESULTS One hundred and fifty patients with atrial fibrillation or flutter (duration range 2 h-6 months) were given 15-min intravenous infusions of 8 microg. kg(-1)of dofetilide (n=48), 5 mg. kg(-1)of amiodarone (n=50)...

BACKGROUND The evidence for an association between alcohol consumption and risk of atrial fibrillation is conflicting. METHODS We prospectively examined the association between alcohol consumption and risk of atrial fibrillation or flutter among 47 949 participants (mean age, 56 years) in the Danish Diet, Cancer, and Health Study. The consumption of alcohol was analyzed as sex-specific quinti...

A case of atrial tachysystole with apparent exit block is reported in which the basic cycle length of atrial activity is 260 msec. Simultaneous right intra-atrial electrograms show cycle lengths of 510 to 780 msec which are roughly multiples of 260 msec establishing the diagnosis of exit block. Rapid atrial stimulation (1,200/min) to overdrive the rapid ectopic atrial pacemaker was only transie...

BACKGROUND The mechanisms underlying paroxysmal atrial flutter/atrial fibrillation initiation by ectopic foci from various locations are unclear. METHODS AND RESULTS We used parallel computational techniques to study an anatomically accurate 3-dimensional atrial structure incorporating a detailed ionic-current model of an atrial myocyte. At the single-cell level, upregulation of the L-type Ca...

BACKGROUND A recent trial unexpectedly reported that atrial fibrillation, when defined as serious, occurred more often in participants randomized to an annual infusion of the relatively new parenteral bisphosphonate, zoledronic acid, than among those given placebo, but had limited power. Two subsequent population-based case-control studies of patients receiving a more established oral bisphosph...

Lower loop re-entry (LLR) flutter is a rare type of atypical right atrial flutter. Most of the reported cases occurred in association with typical flutter patterns as a transient arrhythmia. Our case is unique in the fact the LLR was sustained and persisted independently.

BACKGROUND We tested the hypotheses that spontaneous termination of stable atrial flutter is directly related to spontaneous beat-to-beat cycle length oscillations and that block of the circulating reentrant wave front occurs in an area of slow conduction. METHODS AND RESULTS We studied 30 episodes of spontaneous termination of stable atrial flutter induced by atrial stimulation in 11 conscio...

Underlying mechanisms in the development of atrial flutter or intra-atrial re-entry tachycardia in patients with structural cardiac abnormalities remain poorly defined. The right atrial myocardium from two patients with congenital heart disease was evaluated, of whom one presented with severe right atrial dilation and arrhythmia and the other with a normal right atrium, to assess whether increa...

MANY ELECTROCARDIOGRAPHERS have discussed the differentiation of atrial flutter from atrial tachycardia with block. Some have concluded that there is no difference;' others, including ourselves, hold the opposite view.2 We find the methods described here useful in making the distinction in practice and of interest in their bearing on the theoretical mechanism of atrial flutter. There are three ...