CONTEXT Atrial fibrillation is the most common arrhythmia in elderly persons and a potent risk factor for stroke. However, recent prevalence and projected future numbers of persons with atrial fibrillation are not well described. OBJECTIVE To estimate prevalence of atrial fibrillation and US national projections of the numbers of persons with atrial fibrillation through the year 2050. DESIG...

It is not generally believed that there is a relation between atrial flutter, thought to be due to a single reentrant circuit, and atrial fibrillation, thought to be due to simultaneously circulating multiple-reentrant wave fronts. However, there are many reasons to suggest that these rhythms are more closely related than previously thought. To test the hypothesis that the length of an area of ...

BACKGROUND Atrial fibrillation is associated with increased risk of stroke and thromboembolism, possibly by conferring a prothrombotic or hypercoagulable state. However, it is unclear whether or not this differs in the clinical subgroups of chronic atrial fibrillation patients, that is, in those with paroxysmal, persistent or permanent atrial fibrillation. We therefore hypothesized that: (i) th...

Incidence, determinants, and outcome of atrial fibrillation in hypertensive subjects are incompletely known. We followed for up to 16 years 2482 initially untreated subjects with essential hypertension. At entry, all subjects were in sinus rhythm. Subjects with valvular heart disease, coronary artery disease, preexcitation syndrome, thyroid disorders, or lung disease were excluded. During follo...

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a genetic disease of the cardiac sarcomere with an autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance. Patients with HCM are at high risk of developing atrial fibrillation (AF) particularly in the setting of advanced diastolic dysfunction and left atrial enlargement. AF is a marker of increased mortality and morbidity and results in a significant reduction in quality...

AIMS To characterize the nature and timing of atrial ectopics preceding clinical episodes of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. METHODS AND RESULTS Holter recordings (n= 177, 60 patients, 58% male, mean age 61.7 +/- 11.5 years) were performed on patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. These were subjected to standard analysis and recordings containing atrial fibrillation episodes suitable ...

BACKGROUND Atrial fibrillation and delayed gastric emptying (DGE) are common after pancreaticoduodenectomy. Our aim was to investigate a potential relationship between atrial fibrillation and DGE, which we defined as failure to tolerate a regular diet by the 7(th) postoperative day. METHODS We performed a retrospective chart review of 249 patients who underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy at our ...

Background: Although several conditions have been proposed as risk factors contributing to the incidence of atrial fibrillation, many individuals without such 'risk factors' also suffer from atrial fibrillation. The present study tested the hypothesis that the risk of new-onset atrial fibrillation increases with increasing circulating levels of B-type natriuretic peptide in the general populati...

Atrial fibrillation is the most common sustained cardiac arrhythmia and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Surgical treatment is the most effective means of curing atrial fibrillation. The classic Cox maze procedure eliminates atrial fibrillation in more than 90% of patients and has remained the gold standard in surgery for atrial fibrillation. Despite being highly effectiv...

Anticoagulation with warfarin is the main treatment of intracardiac thrombus. While novel oral anticoagulants (NOACs) have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for stroke prevention in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (AF), they are not indicated for resolution of intracardiac thrombus. The case of a 60-year-old woman with left ventricular (LV) thrombus second...