Aims To estimate the prevalence, incidence, mortality, and risk factors for atrial fibrillation (AF) in 195 countries and territories from 1990 to 2017. Methods and Results Following the methodologies used in the Global Burden of Disease study 2017, the prevalence, incidence, and mortality of AF were analyzed by age, sex, year, socio-demographic index (SDI), and location. The percentage contributions of major risk factors to age-standardised AF deaths were measured by population attributable fractions. In 2017, there were 37.57 million [95% uncertainty interval (UI) 32.55 to 42.59] prevalent cases and 3.05 million (95% UI 2.61 to 3.51) incident cases of AF globally, contributing to 287,241 (95% UI 276,355 to 304,759) deaths. The age-standardised rates of prevalent cases, incident cases, and deaths of AF in 2017 and their temporal trends from 1990 to 2017 varied significantly by SDI quintile and location. High systolic blood pressure was the leading risk factor for AF age-standardised deaths [34.3% (95% UI 27.4 to 41.5)] in 2017, followed by high body-mass index [20.7% (95% UI 11.5 to 32.2)] and alcohol use [9.4% (95% UI 7.0 to 12.2)]. Conclusion Our study has systematically and globally assessed the temporal trends of AF, which remains a major public heath challenge. Although AF mainly occurred in developed countries, the unfavorable trend in countries with lower SDI also deserves particular attention. More effective prevention and treatment strategies aimed at counteracting the increase in AF burden should be established in some countries.

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In-stent restenosis can be diagnosed with moderate sensitivity using a new generation 40-slice MDCT scanner. The high NPV implies a significant role for MDCT in excluding ISR.

RVOT_SE is a novel, simple, and promising parameter for assessing RV function, and it is associated with poor survival.

We present the data regarding accuracy and reproducibility of LVOTd measurements by TTE when compared with TEE. LVOTd measurements at end-diastole may be helpful when systolic images are suboptimal.

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The study demonstrated important differences between elderly (70 to 79 years) and very elderly (> or =80 years) patients hospitalized with ACS. The older cohort was sicker on admission and had poorer outcome, but a subgroup selected for angiography and possible intervention had two-year outcomes similar to the younger cohort.

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