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PubMed1998

Hybrid pharmacologic and ablative therapy: a novel and effective approach for the management of atrial fibrillation.

INTRODUCTION: Maintenance of sinus rhythm in patients with recurrent atrial fibrillation is often difficult to achieve with pharmacologic therapy. Complex catheter ablative procedures are being developed, but efficacy and safety issues remain to be clarified. We hypothesized that combined pharmacologic and simple ablative therapies in a targeted subset of patients will improve success in the treatment of atrial fibrillation. METHODS AND RESULTS: We identified 13 patients (mean age 61.5 +/- 16.2 years) with atrial fibrillation who converted to electrocardiographic atrial flutter during antiarrhythmic drug treatment. Surface ECG suggested "typical" atrial flutter in 11 patients and "atypical" atrial flutter in 2. Intracardiac mapping and entrainment studies revealed 9 patients had counterclockwise isthmus-dependent atrial flutter, and the remaining 4 had complex activation patterns, suggesting the presence of multiple wavefronts. All 9 patients with typical atrial flutter underwent successful ablation. None of the 4 patients with complex activation patterns had successful ablation. Patients were followed for recurrences of atrial arrhythmias via clinic visits, record review, and interviews. In patients who underwent successful ablation and continued on antiarrhythmic drugs, 88.9% remain in sinus rhythm after a mean follow-up of 14.3 +/- 6.9 months (range 1 to 28). CONCLUSION: In patients who experience conversion of atrial fibrillation to atrial flutter during antiarrhythmic drug treatment, ablation and continuation of pharmacologic therapy is a safe and effective means of achieving and maintaining sinus rhythm.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

The superior transseptal surgical approach to mitral valve creates slow conduction.

BACKGROUND: Atrial tachycardia is very frequent after mitral valve surgery using the superior transseptal approach. METHODS: Sixteen patients operated on for mitral valve disease (superior transseptal approach = Group A, n = 9, and left atrial approach = Group B, n = 7) underwent radiofrequency catheter ablation of atrial tachycardia guided by electroanatomic mapping. Twenty-six consecutive patients without previous cardiac surgery with typical atrial flutter served as controls (Group C). RESULTS: Atrial tachycardia occurred earlier after the operation in Group A than in Group B (median 97 vs 2,159 days, P = 0.003). Typical atrial flutter was the most frequent circuit in all groups (Group A-7 patients, Group B-5 patients, Group C-26 patients). Three patients in Group A developed right atrial incisional tachycardia. Ten of 14 tachycardia circuits (typical atrial flutter, n = 7, incisional tachycardia, n = 3) in Group A depended on the corridor between the right atrial part of the atriotomy and the tricuspid annulus. Slow conduction during typical atrial flutter was detected in this corridor in Group A, but not in the corresponding region in Groups B and C (P < 0.001). The cycle length of typical atrial flutter was longer in Groups A and B than in Group C (mean 283 ms and 282 ms vs 233 ms, P = 0.003). Patients in Group B with typical atrial flutter had larger right atria than patients in Group A or Group C (mean 156 mL vs 96 mL and 113 mL, P = 0.033). CONCLUSIONS: The superior transseptal incision may predispose to atrial tachycardia by creating slow conduction between the atriotomy and the tricuspid annulus.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Intravenous flecainide acetate for the clinical management of paroxysmal tachycardias.

Intravenous flecainide acetate (2 mg/kg) was administered to 40 patients undergoing routine electrophysiological evaluation for the investigation of recurrent paroxysmal tachycardias. Ten patients had recurrent atrial flutter, 11 patients had recurrent atrial fibrillation, one of whom also had paroxysmal left atrial tachycardia, and 19 patients had recurrent ventricular tachyarrhythmias (17 with recurrent ventricular tachycardia and 2 with recurrent fascicular tachycardia). Flecainide was administered during tachycardia (over 5 to 10 minutes) to all patients with atrial flutter, to 10 patients with atrial fibrillation, and to 17 patients with ventricular tachyarrhythmias. In the remaining 3 patients with ill-sustained arrhythmias flecainide was administered during sinus rhythm and reinitiation of tachycardia was then attempted. Flecainide restored sinus rhythm in only 2 patients with atrial flutter (20%), in 9 patients with atrial fibrillation (90%), in 12 patients with ventricular tachycardia (80%), and in one of the 2 patients with fasicular tachycardia. Flecainide also successfully terminated the left atrial tachycardia. Two patients experienced proarrhythmic side effects during flecainide administration, one of whom required intervention by cardioversion. Minor dose effects included oral paresthesia, transient drowsiness or dizziness, and occasional visual blurring. Flecainide acetate is an effective antiarrhythmic agent for the acute termination of recent onset paroxysmal atrial and ventricular tachyarrhythmias.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Ibutilide: a new class III antiarrhythmic agent.

The pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, clinical efficacy, adverse effects, and dosage and administration of ibutilide are reviewed. Ibutilide is the first class III antiarrhythmic agent to rely on activation of a slow inward sodium current to prolong the action potential and effective refractory period of atrial and ventricular tissue. The drug is indicated for the rapid restoration of normal sinus rhythm in patients with atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter of recent onset who are hemodynamically stable. The effects of ibutilide are concentration dependent. The drug undergoes rapid and extensive hepatic metabolism. The pharmacokinetics of ibutilide fumarate are linear well above the maximum proposed therapeutic dose of 2 mg. The elimination half-life averages six hours. Clinical trials have established ibutilide's efficacy in converting sustained atrial flutter and atrial fibrillation to normal sinus rhythm. It has been shown that patients with atrial flutter respond at a greater rate than patients with atrial fibrillation, but that atrial fibrillation is converted more rapidly than atrial flutter. In one study, atrial flutter and atrial fibrillation were successfully converted in significantly more patients receiving ibutilide than those receiving sotalol. Ventricular tachycardia is the adverse event of primary concern, occurring in 4.3% of patients in clinical trials. The recommended initial dose is 0.01 mg/kg for patients weighing less than 60 kg and 1 mg for patients weighing 60 kg or more, infused over 10 minutes. About 70% of patients will require a second dose. The list price is $119.75 per dose. Ibutilide appears to be an effective alternative to other antiarrhythmic agents for rapid conversion of arrhythmias to normal sinus rhythm in hemodynamically stable patients.

Anti-Arrhythmia Agents↗
PubMed1999

The occurrence and prognostic significance of atrial fibrillation/-flutter following acute myocardial infarction. TRACE Study group. TRAndolapril Cardiac Evalution.

AIMS: To investigate the occurrence and prognostic significance of atrial fibrillation/-flutter following acute myocardial infarction. METHODS AND RESULTS: The occurrence and prognostic significance of atrial fibrillation/-flutter were studied in 6676 consecutive patients with acute myocardial infarction screened in 27 centres in Denmark for inclusion into the TRAndolapril Cardiac Evaluation (TRACE) study. Information about occurrence of atrial fibrillation/-flutter during hospitalization was prospectively collected for the following three periods: day 1-2, day 3-4 and from day 5 until discharge. A total of 1395 patients (21%) suffered from atrial fibrillation/-flutter in one or more of the specified periods during hospitalization. Patients with atrial fibrillation/-flutter were significantly older, a significantly greater proportion were women, left ventricular systolic dysfunction was more extensive, thrombolytic therapy was received less frequently, and anterior Q wave myocardial infarction was experienced more frequently than patients without atrial fibrillation/-flutter. History of acute myocardial infarction and/or angina pectoris was similar in patients with and without atrial fibrillation/-flutter, whereas significantly more patients with atrial fibrillation/-flutter had a history of hypertension, congestive heart failure, diabetes mellitus, pulmonary disease and stroke. The unadjusted in-hospital mortality rate was significantly higher in patients with atrial fibrillation/-flutter in one or more of the specified periods during hospitalization (18%) than in patients without atrial fibrillation/-flutter (9%), P<0.001. After adjustment for baseline characteristics, the presence of atrial fibrillation/-flutter was still associated with increased in-hospital mortality; odds ratio=1.5 (95% Cl: 1.2-1.8), P<0.001. In patients surviving hospitalization, the unadjusted 5-year mortality rate was also significantly higher in patients suffering from atrial fibrillation/-flutter (56%) than in patients without atrial fibrillation/-flutter (34%), P<0.001. After adjustment for important prognostic baseline characteristics, the presence of atrial fibrillation/-flutter was still associated with an increased mortality, relative risk=1.3 (95% Cl: 1.2-1.4). Subgroup analysis revealed that sustained atrial fibrillation/-flutter during hospitalization was associated with the highest risk of dying, relative risk=1.4 (95% Cl: 1.2-1.7). CONCLUSION: Atrial fibrillation/-flutter often occurs after acute myocardial infarction and our analysis demonstrated that it was an independent predictor of an increased short and long-term mortality.

Aged↗
PubMed2005

Radiofrequency ablation for the treatment of atrial fibrillation--brief report update.

Considerable advances have been made in both the understanding of and the curative treatment for atrial arrhythmias over the last decade. Radiofrequency ablation of typical right atrial flutter and focal atrial tachycardia using standard catheters is commonplace and is associated with success rates of over 95%. Recently developed 3-D mapping systems have furthered our understanding of the complex circuits responsible for atypical atrial flutters within the right and left atrium and successful ablation of these previously incurable arrhythmias is now routinely achieved. With the seminal discovery of pulmonary vein triggers and fixed left atrial circuits that are critical for the genesis and perpetuation of atrial fibrillation, ablation techniques have been developed which are associated with cure rates of over 75% for both paroxysmal and persistent forms of atrial fibrillation.

Atrial Fibrillation↗
PubMed2006

Ibutilide to expedite ED therapy for recent-onset atrial fibrillation flutter.

OBJECTIVE: Ibutilide is a type III antiarrhythmic agent approved for the pharmacologic conversion of atrial fibrillation (AF) and atrial flutter (AFl). Previous studies conducted outside the ED setting have demonstrated conversion rates of 60% to 80%. This response has been highest in patients with recent-onset AF-AFl. These observations and the 4-hour half-life of ibutilide suggest that it may be an excellent drug with which to treat AF-AFl in the ED. The purpose of the study was to examine the efficacy and safety of ibutilide in terminating AF-AFl in patients who present to the ED with symptoms of less than 3 days' duration, neither angina nor heart failure, and no comorbid conditions that require admission. METHODS: Among 36 enrolled patients, the admission electrocardiogram demonstrated AF in 26 and AFl in 10. Ibutilide 1 mg was administered intravenously for 10 minutes. If sinus rhythm was not present 10 minutes after the infusion concluded, a second infusion of 1 mg was given. Successful conversion was defined as restoration of sinus rhythm within 1 hour after the last dose of ibutilide. RESULTS: Sixteen (61.5%) of 26 patients with AF and 9 (90%) of 10 patients with AFl converted to sinus rhythm (overall conversion rate=69%). The mean time to arrhythmia termination was 19+/-9 minutes. The mean stay in the ED was 16.2 hours. No significant complications occurred. CONCLUSION: We conclude that ibutilide is an excellent therapy option for restoring sinus rhythm in the ED. Its use may obviate the need for admission, avoid the risks and inconveniences of general anesthesia to perform electrical cardioversion, and reduce the ED length of stay in selected patients with recent-onset atrial arrhythmias.

Aged↗
PubMed1995

Prevalence and prognostic significance of atrial arrhythmias after orthotopic cardiac transplantation.

OBJECTIVES: We studied the duration and prognostic significance of atrial arrhythmias in the denervated transplanted heart, specifically the occurrence of atrial fibrillation in the absence of vagal modulation. BACKGROUND: Substantial animal data indicate that vagally induced dispersion of atrial refractoriness plays a central role in the induction and maintenance of atrial fibrillation. METHODS: We studied the occurrence of atrial arrhythmias in the denervated hearts of 88 consecutive orthotopic transplantations in 85 patients by means of continuous telemetry and all available electrocardiographic tracings. RESULTS: Fifty percent of recipients (44 of 88) developed at least one atrial arrhythmia. Atrial fibrillation occurred 23 times (21 recipients), atrial flutter 39 times (26 recipients), ectopic atrial tachycardia 3 times (3 recipients) and supraventricular tachycardia 18 times (11 recipients). The number of atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter episodes did not differ (23 vs. 39, p = 0.072), but the mean duration of atrial flutter was longer than that of atrial fibrillation (37.0 +/- 10 vs. 6.6 +/- 3.6 h, p = 0.014). Atrial fibrillation was associated with an increased risk of subsequent death (10 of 21 recipients with vs. 15 of 67 without atrial fibrillation, risk ratio 3.15 +/- 0.18, p = 0.005 by Cox proportional hazards model). All 5 recipients who developed "late" atrial fibrillation (> 2 weeks after transplantation) died versus 5 of 16 who developed atrial fibrillation within the first 2 weeks (p = 0.007). Causes of death included rejection (three recipients), allograft failure (two recipients), infection (three recipients) and multiorgan failure (two recipients). Atrial fibrillation was not associated with age, gender, ischemic time, reason for transplantation, echocardiographic variables, invasive hemodynamic variables or biopsy grade. Mean time from atrial arrhythmia to echocardiography was 2.7 +/- 3.3 days; that to biopsy was 4.8 +/- 6.3 days. Atrial flutter was not associated with subsequent death. Only 7 (15.9%) of 44 recipients demonstrated moderate or severe allograft rejection at the time of the arrhythmia. CONCLUSIONS: Atrial arrhythmias occur frequently in the denervated transplanted heart, often in the absence of significant rejection. Late atrial fibrillation may be associated with an increased all-cause mortality.

Actuarial Analysis↗
PubMed2000

Antiarrhythmic effects of azimilide in atrial fibrillation: efficacy and dose-response. Azimilide Supraventricular Arrhythmia Program 3 (SVA-3) Investigators.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of azimilide, a class III antiarrhythmic drug, in reducing the frequency of symptomatic arrhythmia recurrences in patients with atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter or both. BACKGROUND: Atrial fibrillation is an increasingly common disorder of the heart rhythm, and most patients with this problem are identified because they have symptoms associated with their arrhythmia. New antiarrhythmic therapies are needed to treat patients with this problem. METHODS: A total of 384 patients with a history of atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter or both were randomly assigned to receive once daily doses of placebo or azimilide; recurrent symptomatic arrhythmias were documented using transtelephonic electrocardiogram (ECG) recording. Azimilide 50 mg, 100 mg or 125 mg was tested; the primary efficacy analysis compared the time to first symptomatic recurrence in the combined azimilide 100 mg and 125 mg dose groups with that in the placebo group using the log-rank test. RESULTS: In the primary efficacy analysis, the time to first symptomatic arrhythmia recurrence was significantly prolonged in the combined azimilide 100 mg and 125 mg daily dose group compared with the placebo group (chi-square 7.96, p = 0.005); the hazard ratio (placebo: azimilide) for this comparison was 1.58 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.15, 2.16). In comparisons between individual doses and placebo, the hazard ratio for the 50 mg daily dose was 1.17 (95% CI = 0.83, 1.66; p = 0.37); for the 100 mg group, dose was 1.38 (95% CI = 0.96, 1.98; p = 0.08), and for the 125 mg group, dose was 1.83 (95% CI = 1.24, 2.70; p = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS: Azimilide significantly lengthened the symptomatic arrhythmia-free interval in patients with a history of atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter or both.

Aged↗
PubMed1997

The cost-effectiveness of ibutilide versus electrical cardioversion in the conversion of atrial fibrillation and flutter to normal rhythm.

Atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter are cardiac rhythm disorders that are often symptomatic and may interfere with the heart's function, limiting its effectiveness. These arrhythmias are responsible for a large number of hospitalizations at a significant cost to the healthcare system. Electrical cardioversion (EC) is the most common nonpharmacologic intervention used to convert atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter to normal rhythm. Electrical cardioversion is highly successful in converting patients to normal rhythm; however, it is more traumatic and resource intensive than pharmacologic treatment. Recently, a new rapid-acting drug, ibutilide, was approved for the conversion of atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter. Ibutilide is administered through intravenous infusion and does not require anesthetization of the patient, as is required for EC. A decision-tree model was developed to estimate the cost-effectiveness of ibutilide therapy compared with EC therapy. Clinical outcomes were based on a phase III trial of ibutilide, and resource use was based on the literature and physician clinical judgment. A stepped conversion regimen of first-line ibutilide followed by EC for patients who fail to convert is less expensive and has a higher conversion rate than first-line EC. Sensitivity analysis shows that our results are robust to changes in cost and effectiveness estimates.

Anti-Arrhythmia Agents↗
PubMed1981

Clinical experience with intravenous metoprolol in supraventricular tachyarrhythmias. A multicentre study.

The efficacy of metoprolol, 5-15 mg i.v., in the treatment of supraventricular tachyarrhythmias was evaluated in a multi-centre study involving 142 patients, 28 of whom had paroxysmal atrial tachycardia, 35 atrial flutter and 79 atrial fibrillation. A good control of heart rate (reduction of greater than or equal to 25% or to less than 100 beats/min) was obtained in 68% of the patients and a further 18% showed a reduction in heart rate of at least 10% or to less than or equal to 150 beats/min. Conversion to sinus rhythm occurred in 57% of the patients with paroxysmal atrial tachycardia. As would be expected, the conversion rate was lower in patients with atrial flutter or fibrillation (23% and 13%, respectively). The drug was well tolerated, and marked hypotension or hypotensive symptoms occurred mainly in patients with initial hypotension or congestive heart failure. The effects observed in this study are in agreement with previous reports for other beta-blocking agents.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Clinical experience with propafenone for cardiac arrhythmias in the young.

Seventy-two children were treated with propafenone between 1980 and 1990. The mean age was 34 months (range 0-192). Arrhythmias included atrioventricular re-entry tachycardia in 32 patients (44%), atrial flutter in 16 (22%), atrial or junctional ectopic tachycardia in 10 (14%), atrial re-entry tachycardias in three (4%) and ventricular arrhythmias in 11 patients (16%). The efficacy of oral treatment was good in patients with atrio-ventricular re-entry tachycardia (80%), atrial flutter (71%) and atrial ectopic tachycardia (83%); it was poor in ventricular arrhythmias (40%). The mean oral dose was 13.5 mg.kg-1. day-1. Dosage and serum levels of propafenone did not differ whether the patients were treated successfully or not. No correlation between dosage and serum level was observed. Intravenous propafenone administration was only partially successful in suppressing supraventricular tachycardias (6 of 11 patients). The presence of a congenital heart defect and the time of onset of the arrhythmias had a significant influence on the efficacy of propafenone. Better results were observed in patients with normal hearts and in whom onset of arrhythmia was pre-natal (success 80%) as well as in patients with arrhythmias seen early after surgery for congenital heart defects (success 87%). Success (65%) was also observed in patients without congenital heart defects and postnatal onset of supraventricular arrhythmias. Patients with ventricular or supraventricular arrhythmias late after corrective surgery showed the poorest response (31%).

Administration, Oral↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Clinical decision analysis modeling: short-term control of ventricular response rate in atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter-digoxin versus diltiazem.

OBJECTIVE: To develop a clinical decision model to compare the outcome of therapy with digoxin versus diltiazem for short-term control of ventricular response rate (VRR) in patients with atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter. DESIGN: Review of data from two studies that examined the percentages of response and frequency of adverse reactions in patients treated with intravenous digoxin or diltiazem to control VRR in atrial fibrillation or flutter. We constructed a clinical decision model and performed sensitivity analysis to determine if the model's predictions could be altered. SETTING: Large teaching, university hospitals. PARTICIPANTS: Adults age 18 years or older treated with intravenous digoxin or intravenous diltiazem for atrial fibrillation or flutter (VRR > or = 120 beats/min). Patients with severe heart failure New York Heart Association class III or IV, a surgical procedure prior to the exacerbation, or an acute myocardial infarction were excluded. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: We measured VRR control after 1 and 24 hours of therapy (VRR < 100 beats/min or decrease of > or = 20%) and assessed the likelihood that a patient would suffer an adverse drug reaction. Initial assumptions were that the probability digoxin would achieve VRR control was 0.10 (95% confidence interval 0.04-0.20) at 1 hour and 0.70 (95% CI 0.56-0.80) at 24 hours; the probability that diltiazem would achieve VRR control was 0.94 (95% CI 0.82-0.99) at 1 hour and 0.83 (95% CI 0.68-0.94) at 24 hours; and the probability of no serious adverse drug reaction would be 0.90 (95% CI 0.80-0.96) for digoxin and 0.96 (95% CI 0.86-0.98) for diltiazem. RESULTS: Diltiazem was superior to digoxin with respect to the composite end point score at 1 hour (91.20 vs 17.29) and 24 hours (81.65 vs 66.43). Digoxin was superior to diltiazem at 24 hours only if the VRR was assumed to be at the highest 95% CI limit for digoxin and simultaneously at the lowest 95% CI for diltiazem (74.62 vs 68.63). CONCLUSIONS: Clinical decision analysis suggests that intravenous diltiazem is superior to intravenous digoxin in controlling VRR in patients with atrial fibrillation or flutter.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Flecainide in quinidine-resistant atrial fibrillation.

Flecainide (100 mg twice daily) was used for prevention of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF) in 52 patients with frequent symptomatic attacks that were resistant or intolerant to quinidine (600-900 mg/day). Underlying heart disease was present in only 8 cases and left ventricular ejection fraction was always greater than 30%. No patient had had a myocardial infarction. Vagally induced PAF was clinically documented in 35 patients. Amiodarone, previously used and ineffective, was combined with flecainide in 33 patients. After 1-5.8 years of follow-up, complete disappearance of PAF was observed in 38 patients (73%). The success rate was slightly higher in patients with vagally induced PAF (p = 0.07). Extracardiac side effects necessitated withdrawal in only 3 cases. Permanent pacemaker was needed in 7 patients on amiodarone and flecainide because of excessive sinus bradycardia. Two patients, with previously documented atrial flutter, experienced presyncopal episodes of atrial flutter with 1:1 atrioventricular (AV) conduction and wide QRS complex. No death occurred during the follow-up. In this series, quinidine proved to be unsuccessful in 46 patients and it was withdrawn in 6. We concluded that flecainide is efficient and well tolerated for long-term prevention of PAF in patients resistant to quinidine. The possibility of 1:1 AV conduction during atrial flutter may suggest the use of verapamil or beta blockers in combination with flecainide in patients with previously documented atrial flutter.

Amiodarone↗
PubMed1996

Antiarrhythmic and electrophysiologic effects of intravenous ibutilide and sotalol in the canine sterile pericarditis model.

INTRODUCTION: Atrial arrhythmias are a frequent clinical complication following open heart surgery. We compared the Class III agents d,l-so-talol and ibutilide fumarate in an intravenous cross-over study using the canine atrial sterile pericarditis model. METHODS AND RESULTS: We studied pacing-induced sustained atrial flutter over a 7-day post-surgical period in conscious dogs, alternating analysis of ibutilide (1.0 to 30.0 micrograms/kg) and d,l-sotalol (0.1 to 3.0 mg/kg). Ibutilide significantly increased atrial flutter cycle length (AFL CL) 11 +/- 2 msec and atrial effective refractory period (AERP) 13 +/- 2 msec, and terminated atrial flutter in all cases (n = 12) following a mean dose of 6 +/- 2 micrograms/kg. Plasma concentrations of ibutilide were 53 +/- 13 ng/mL. Ventricular effective refractory period (VERP) was not significantly affected (4 +/- 2 msec). Following termination with ibutilide, atrial flutter could be reinitiated in 1 of 12 trials, and was nonsustained (40-sec duration). Sotalol significantly increased AFL CL 23 +/- 3 msec and terminated atrial flutter in 8 of 12 trials following a mean dose of 1.5 +/- 0.4 mg/kg. AERP and VERP were significantly increased 20 +/- 6 and 12 +/- 2 msec, respectively. The incidence of reinduced atrial flutter was 9 of 12 trials (P < or = 0.05 vs ibutilide) (7 nonsustained 57 +/- 7 sec duration, and 2 sustained). Sotalol failed to terminate atrial flutter in two dogs on days 1 and 5, despite increases in AFL CL (21 +/- 8 msec) and AERP (16 +/- 9 msec), whereas on day 3, ibutilide (20 +/- 7 micrograms/kg) terminated atrial flutter in those two dogs while increasing AFL CL and AERP 18 +/- 6 and 15 +/- 0 msec, respectively. CONCLUSION: Both sotalol and ibutilide terminate atrial flutter in this model. Ibutilide converted atrial flutter in dogs in which sotalol was not successful. Following atrial flutter termination, ibutilide had a lower incidence of reinduced arrhythmias compared to sotalol. Ibutilide produced atrial antiarrhythmic effects while having no significant electrophysiologic effects on the ventricle.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

[Echocardiographic factors predicting the maintenance of sinus rhythm one year after cardioversion for non-valvular atrial arrhythmias].

Echocardiographic factors predictive of the maintenance of sinus rhythm after successful cardioversion were investigated in 94 patients with non-valvular atrial arrhythmias of recent onset. Seventy-five patients with atrial fibrillation and 19 with atrial flutter admitted for reduction of their arrhythmias underwent transthoracic and transoesophageal echocardiography. After excluding a thrombus in the left atrial appendage or checking that it had disappeared (5 patients), and electrical (n = 74) or pharmacological (n = 20) cardioversion was successfully performed. The maintenance of sinus rhythm (n = 44) or recurrence of arrhythmia (n = 50) were controlled every 3 months for one year. The mean value of the peak positive blood flow in the left atrial appendage was 38 +/- 20 cm/s for the whole group. It was not possible to identify an echocardiographic parameter predictive of maintenance of sinus rhythm at one year either in the whole group or in the subgroups with atrial flutter or atrial fibrillation. In the group in atrial flutter, the mean value of the peak positive blood flow in the left atrial appendage was significantly greater than in the group with atrial fibrillation: 49 +/- 22 cm/s vs 35 +/- 18 cm/s, respectively; p < 0.05. The peak of positive flow in the left atrial appendage was statistically related to indirect parameters of left atrial function and of left ventricular function in the group with atrial fibrillation but only with parameters of left ventricular function in the smaller group with atrial flutter.

Aged↗
PubMed1994

Supraventricular tachyarrhythmias: drug therapy versus catheter ablation.

Until recently, the only options available for treatment of supraventricular arrhythmias involved the use of drug therapy or cardiac surgery. However, over the past several years with the introduction of radiofrequency energy sources as well as steerable catheters, the clinician has a variety of additional nonpharmacologic options. This article reviews the use of pharmacologic therapy versus catheter ablation for the treatment of reentrant supraventricular arrhythmias, involving the atrioventricular junction and/or accessory atrioventricular connection, as well as arrhythmias emanating from the atria such as atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, and atrial tachycardia.

Anti-Arrhythmia Agents↗
PubMed1982

Subcostal M-mode echocardiography of the right atrial wall in the diagnosis of cardiac arrhythmias.

The M-mode echocardiogram of the right atrial (RA) wall can be easily recorded in each person from the subcostal location. In a normal RA wall motion pattern, atrial contraction is represented by a markedly prominent posterior motion. The presence or absence of atrial contractions in the subcostal RA wall echocardiogram, their amplitude, and their timing may help in the diagnosis of cardiac arrhythmias with the simultaneously recorded non-diagnostic electrocardiogram. Flat and hidden P waves can be accurately identified throughout the cardiac cycle. It is possible to distinguish between atrial, ventricular, and nodal premature beats and to recognize atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, paroxysmal atrial tachycardia, paroxysmal atrial tachycardia with block, atrioventricular (AV) nodal tachycardia, and supraventricular tachycardias with aberrant ventricular conduction. The diagnosis of wandering pacemaker, AV dissociation, sinoatrial block, and AV block is facilitated. On the basis of study of 60 patients with various rhythm disturbances, it was concluded that analysis of the subcostal RA wall echocardiogram is a new, helpful noninvasive approach in the diagnosis of cardiac arrhythmias.

Arrhythmias, Cardiac↗