Atrial fibrillation practice patterns among cardiac electrophysiologists and cardiologists

Abstract

(Cardiol J 2014; 21, 3: 293-298)

Medical therapy with flecainide and propafenone in atrial fibrillation: Long-term clinical experience in the tertiary care setting

“…In the Euro Heart Survey on AF, the prevalence of flecainide or propafenone use for paroxysmal and persistent AF among all rate and rhythm control drugs was only 17% and 13%, respectively [ 19 ]. This is comparable to recent data reported in the United States where only electrophysiologists were found to prescribe these drugs [ 20 ]. The use of Class Ic antiarrhythmics had greatly decreased after the publication of the Cardiac Arrhythmia Suppression Trial (CAST) in 1991 [ 21 ], which showed increased mortality when these drugs were used for suppression of premature ventricular beats in ischemic heart disease.…”

An International Observational Prospective Survey Assessing the Control of Atrial Fibrillation in Asia-Pacific: Results of the Record-AFAP Registry

“…Available evidence suggests that rate control may be an appropriate strategy in older patients with minor symptoms, while rhythm-control may be used in patients who are symptomatic despite adequate rate control. 18 …”

“…Available evidence suggests that rate control may be an appropriate strategy in older patients with minor symptoms, while rhythm-control may be used in patients who are symptomatic despite adequate rate control. 18 Based on the available data at the time, 80 bpm was chosen as the definition of adequate rate control in our study protocol, and this was chosen to allow comparison with the global RECORD AF study. The results of the RACE (Rate Control Efficacy in Permanent Atrial Fibrillation) II trial, which showed lenient (,110 bpm) control to be noninferior to strict (,80 bpm) control, 19 have resulted in the suggestion that lenient rate control may be a reasonable strategy in patients with permanent AF and stable ventricular function.…”

Whole‐exome sequencing reveals microsatellite DNA markers for response to dofetilide initiation in patients with persistent atrial fibrillation: A pilot study

“…Dofetilide, a class III antiarrhythmic drug, is approved for the treatment of persistent atrial fibrillation (AF) . Although proven efficacious, dofetilide continues to be underused for treatment of persistent AF when compared with other antiarrhythmic drugs . This is largely due to prolongation of corrected QT interval (QTc) and concerns for associated life‐threatening ventricular arrhythmias…”