The location of non-PV ectopic beats initiating PAF can be predicted by both gender and left atrial enlargement.

Not all risk factors in CHA2DS2-VASc score carry an equal risk, with age 65 to 74 years associated with the highest stroke rate. Oral anticoagulation should be considered for AF patients with 1 additional stroke risk factor given their high risk of ischemic stroke.

Among patients with AF ≥90 years of age, warfarin was associated with a lower risk of ischemic stroke and positive net clinical benefit. Compared with warfarin, NOACs were associated with a lower risk of ICH. Thus, OACs may still be considered as thromboprophylaxis for elderly patients, with NOACs being the more favorable choice.

No abstract

Background-There is a paucity of data regarding the mechanism of maintaining atrial fibrillation (AF) after pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) in patients with AF. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of circumferential PVI on the left atrial (LA) substrate characteristics. Methods and Results-Seventy-two AF patients (age, 53Ϯ11 years) underwent mapping and catheter ablation using an NavX system. The biatrial characteristics such as the complex fractionated atrial electrograms (CFEs; based on fractionated intervals) and frequency analysis (based on dominant frequencies) were mapped before and after PVI. PVI with electric isolation was performed in all patients.

No abstract

The location of the highest DF depended on the arrhythmogenic PV or SVC. A frequency gradient was present between the arrhythmogenic thoracic vein and atrium in all patients.

In this AF cohort, the authors demonstrated that the CHADS-VASc score was not static, and that most patients with AF developed ≥1 new stroke risk factor before presentation with ischemic stroke. The Delta CHADS-VASc score, reflecting the change in score between baseline and follow-up, was strongly predictive of ischemic stroke, reflecting how stroke risk in AF is a dynamic process due to increasing age and incident comorbidities.