The time course of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation and its implications: An analysis from a snapshot

摘要

Atrial fibrillation (AF), the most common persistent arrhythmia, is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Of the clinical types of AF, paroxysmal AF (PAF) is the most likely to progress to persistent or permanent AF, and variable progression rates have been reported. Usually, the progression rate of PAF is determined as the proportion of PAF patients who develop permanent AF over a certain period. However, the patients had different PAF durations, and the progression of PAF was rarely assessed since the onset of PAF.The present study included 176 patients with PAF who were receiving treatment from cardiologists. The patients were considered to represent a snapshot of the PAF patients at the time of entry (June to August 2009) with a varying duration of PAF since the first episode. All the patients visited an attending cardiologist for palpitations or an irregular rhythm with or without chest pain and had AF confirmed by ECG, but all were in sinus rhythm at the time of entry. In addition, they received routine clinical examinations or echocardiography, and, if needed, further examinations, such as exercise stress testing, nuclear study or coronary angiography, were performed.