S. Bertil Olsson

ACC/AHA/ESC 2006 Guidelines for the Management of Patients With Atrial Fibrillation A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines and the European Society of Cardiology Committee for Practice Guidelines (Writing Committee to Revise the 2001 Guidelines for the Management of Patients With Atrial Fibrillation): Developed in Collaboration With the European Heart Rhythm Association and the Heart Rhythm Society

Sidney C. Smith, Jr, MD, FACC, FAHA, FESC, Chair; Alice K. Jacobs, MD, FACC, FAHA, Vice-Chair; Cynthia D. Adams, MSN, APRN-BC, FAHA; Jeffery L. Anderson, MD, FACC, FAHA; Elliott M. Antman, MD, FACC, FAHA[‡][1]; Jonathan L. Halperin, MD, FACC, FAHA; Sharon Ann Hunt, MD, FACC, FAHA; Rick Nishimura,

2011 ACCF/AHA/HRS Focused Updates Incorporated Into the ACC/AHA/ESC 2006 Guidelines for the Management of Patients With Atrial Fibrillation A Report of the American College of Cardiology Foundation/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines

For new or updated text, view the 2011 Focused Update and the 2011 Focused Update on Dabigatran. Text supporting unchanged recommendations has not been updated. It is important that the medical profession play a significant role in critically evaluating the use of diagnostic procedures and therapies as they are introduced and tested in the detection, management, or prevention of disease states. Rigorous and expert analysis of the available data documenting absolute and relative benefits and risks of those procedures and therapies can produce helpful guidelines that improve the effectiveness of care, optimize patient outcomes, and favorably affect the overall cost of care by focusing resources on the most effective strategies. The American College of Cardiology Foundation (ACCF) and the American Heart Association (AHA) have jointly engaged in the production of such guidelines in the area of cardiovascular disease since 1980. The ACC/AHA Task Force on Practice Guidelines, whose charge is to develop, update, or revise practice guidelines for important cardiovascular diseases and procedures, directs this effort. The Task Force is pleased to have this guideline developed in conjunction with the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). Writing committees are charged with the task of performing an assessment of the evidence and acting as an independent group of authors to develop or update written recommendations for clinical practice. Experts in the subject under consideration have been selected from all 3 organizations to examine subject-specific data and write guidelines. The process includes additional representatives from other medical practitioner and specialty groups when appropriate. Writing committees are specifically charged to perform a formal literature review, weigh the strength of evidence for or against a particular treatment or procedure, and include estimates of expected health outcomes where data exist. Patient-specific modifiers, comorbidities, and issues of patient preference that might influence the choice of particular …

2011 ACCF/AHA/HRS Focused Updates Incorporated Into the ACC/AHA/ESC 2006 Guidelines for the Management of Patients With Atrial Fibrillation: A Report of the American College of Cardiology Foundation/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines Developed in partnership with the European Society of Cardiology and in collaboration with the European Heart Rhythm Association and the Heart Rhythm Society

Developed in partnership with the Heart Rhythm Society L. Samuel Wann, MD, MACC, FAHA, Chair[‡][1]; Anne B. Curtis, MD, FACC, FAHA[‡][1],[§][2]; Kenneth A. Ellenbogen, MD, FACC, FHRS[†][3],[§][2]; N.A. Mark Estes III, MD, FACC, FHRS[∥][4]; Michael D. Ezekowitz, MB, ChB, FACC[‡][1];

ACC/AHA/ESC 2006 Guidelines for the Management of Patients With Atrial Fibrillation

Sidney C. Smith, Jr, MD, FACC, FAHA, FESC, Chair; Alice K. Jacobs, MD, FACC, FAHA, Vice-Chair; Cynthia D. Adams, MSN, APRN-BC, FAHA; Jeffery L. Anderson, MD, FACC, FAHA; Elliott M. Antman, MD, FACC, FAHA[‡][1]; Jonathan L. Halperin, MD, FACC, FAHA; Sharon Ann Hunt, MD, FACC, FAHA; Rick Nishimura,

ACC/AHA/ESC 2006 Guidelines for the Management of Patients With Atrial Fibrillation—Executive Summary

WRITING COMMITTEE MEMBERS Valentin Fuster, MD, PhD, FACC, FAHA, FESC, Co-Chair; Lars E. Rydén, MD, PhD, FACC, FESC, FAHA, Co-Chair; David S. Cannom, MD, FACC; Harry J. Crijns, MD, FACC, FESC*; Anne B. Curtis, MD, FACC, FAHA; Kenneth A. Ellenbogen, MD, FACC†; Jonathan L. Halperin, MD, FACC, FAHA; Jean-Yves Le Heuzey, MD, FESC; G. Neal Kay, MD, FACC; James E. Lowe, MD, FACC; S. Bertil Olsson, MD, PhD, FESC; Eric N. Prystowsky, MD, FACC; Juan Luis Tamargo, MD, FESC; Samuel Wann, MD, FACC, FESC

2011 ACCF/AHA/HRS Focused Update on the Management of Patients With Atrial Fibrillation (Updating the 2006 Guideline) : A Report of the American College of Cardiology Foundation/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines

2011;57;1330-1337; originally published online Feb 14, 2011; J. Am. Coll. Cardiol. Richard L. Page, David J. Slotwiner, William G. Stevenson, and Cynthia M. Tracy Michael D. Ezekowitz, Warren M. Jackman, Craig T. January, James E. Lowe, L. Samuel Wann, Anne B. Curtis, Kenneth A. Ellenbogen, N.A. Mark Estes, III, on Practice Guidelines of Cardiology Foundation Foundation/American Heart Association Task Force Atrial Fibrillation (Update on Dabigatran): A Report of the American College 2011 ACCF/AHA/HRS Focused Update on the Management of Patients With This information is current as of October 25, 2011 http://content.onlinejacc.org/cgi/content/full/57/11/1330 located on the World Wide Web at: The online version of this article, along with updated information and services, is

Should we abandon the common practice of withholding oral anticoagulation in paroxysmal atrial fibrillation

AIMS To assess the relation between the atrial fibrillation (AF) subtype and thrombo-embolic events. METHODS AND RESULTS The observational Euro Heart Survey on AF (2003-04) enrolled 1509 paroxysmal, 1109 persistent, and 1515 permanent AF patients, according to the 2001 American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association, and the European Society of Cardiology guidelines definitions. A 1 year follow-up was performed. Permanent AF patients had at baseline a worse stroke risk profile than paroxysmal and persistent AF patients. In paroxysmal AF, the risk for stroke, any thrombo-embolism, major bleeding and the combined endpoint of cardiovascular mortality, any thrombo-embolism, and major bleeding was comparable with persistent and permanent AF, in both univariable and multivariable analyses. Compared with AF patients without stroke, patients suffering from a stroke had a comparable frequency and duration of AF attacks, but tended to have a worse stroke risk profile at baseline. During 1 year following cardioversion, paroxysmal AF patients had a higher risk for stroke (P = 0.029) and any thrombo-embolism (P = 0.001) than persistent AF patients. CONCLUSION In the Euro Heart Survey, paroxysmal AF had a comparable risk for thrombo-embolic events as persistent and permanent AF. This observation strengthens the guideline recommendation not to consider the clinical AF subtype when deciding on anticoagulation.

Oral direct thrombin inhibitor AZD0837 for the prevention of stroke and systemic embolism in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation: a randomized dose-guiding, safety, and tolerability study of four doses of AZD0837 vs. vitamin K antagonists

Aims Oral anticoagulation with vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation (AF) is effective but has significant limitations. AZD0837, a new oral anticoagulant, is a prodrug converted to a selective and reversible direct thrombin inhibitor (AR-H067637). We report from a Phase II randomized, dose-guiding study (NCT00684307) to assess safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of extended-release AZD0837 in patients with AF. Methods and results Atrial fibrillation patients (n = 955) with ≥1 additional risk factor for stroke were randomized to receive AZD0837 (150, 300, or 450 mg once daily or 200 mg twice daily) or VKA (international normalized ratio 2–3, target 2.5) for 3–9 months. Approximately 30% of patients were naïve to VKA treatment. Total bleeding events were similar or lower in all AZD0837 groups (5.3–14.7%, mean exposure 138–145 days) vs. VKA (14.5%, mean exposure 161 days), with fewer clinically relevant bleeding events on AZD0837 150 and 300 mg once daily. Adverse events were similar between treatment groups; with AZD0837, the most common were gastrointestinal disorders (e.g. diarrhoea, flatulence, or nausea). d-Dimer, used as a biomarker of thrombogenesis, decreased in all groups in VKA-naïve subjects with treatment, whereas in VKA pre-treated patients, d-dimer levels started low and remained low in all groups. As expected, only a few strokes or systemic embolic events occurred. In the AZD0837 groups, mean S-creatinine increased by ∼10% from baseline and returned to baseline following treatment cessation. The frequency of serum alanine aminotransferase ≥3× upper limit of normal was similar for AZD0837 and VKA. Conclusion AZD0837 was generally well tolerated at all doses tested. AZD0837 treatment at an exposure corresponding to the 300 mg od dose in this study provides similar suppression of thrombogenesis at a potentially lower bleeding risk compared with dose-adjusted VKA. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00684307.

Monophasic action potentials: concepts to practical applications

Monophasic Action Potentials. Monophaisc action potential (MAP) recordings reproduce the repolarization time course of intrucellular action potentials with high accuracy and provide precise information on the local activation time. With the advantage of in vivo application and the development of the safer and simpler contact catheter technique, MAP recording has become the method of choice for evaluating myocardial repolarization changes. This review aims to provide information on practical application of MAP recording in the clinical setting. MAPs can easily be recorded from the endocardium with the contact catheter technique in the electrophysiology laboratory and from the epicardium with electrode probes during open heart surgery. The technical aspects are described in detail. The rate dependence of myocardial excitability and repolarization and the effect of antiarrhythmic drugs on MAP duration and effective refractory period are thoroughly reviewed. The use of MAPs in detecting myocardial ischemia, in studying early afterdepolarization and triggered arrhythmias, in measuring dispersion of repolarization, in identifying intracardiac conduction and the development of the T wave, and in verifying the arrhythmogenic effect of mechanoelectric feedback are presented. Computerized automatic analysis of MAPs and the limitations of the MAP technique are also discussed.

Echocardiographic and Electrocardiographic Predictors for Atrial Fibrillation Recurrence Following Cardioversion

Introduction: Identification of suitable candidates for cardioversion currently is not based on individual electrical and mechanical atrial remodeling. Therefore, this study analyzed the meaning of atrial fibrillatory rate obtained from the surface ECG (as a measure of electrical remodeling) and left atrial size (as measure of mechanical remodeling) for prediction of early atrial fibrillation (AF) recurrence following cardioversion.