Cardioversion in Non-Valvular Atrial Fibrillation

Deutsches Ärzteblatt International
Hermann H Klein, Hans-Joachim Trappe

Abstract

Atrial fibrillation is the most common type of cardiac arrhythmia and is associated with elevated rates of stroke, heart failure, hospital admission, and death. Its prevalence in the overall population is 1.5% to 2%. To convert atrial fibrillation to sinus rhythm, cardioversion is needed. This review is based on pertinent articles published from 2004 to December 2014 that were retrieved by a selective PubMed search employing the terms "atrial fibrillation" and "cardioversion." In electrical cardioversion, a defibrillator is used to pass a pulse of current between two electrodes. In pharmacological cardioversion, antiarrhythmic drugs are given intravenously or orally. Electrical cardioversion results in sinus rhythm in more than 85% of patients; pharmacological cardioversion results in sinus rhythm in about 70% of patients with recent-onset atrial fibrillation. As a rule, cardioversion should be carried out only under effective therapeutic anticoagulation with heparin, a vitamin K antagonist, or a new oral anticoagulant drug. If atrial fibrillation has been present for more than 48 hours, cardioversion must be preceded by transesophageal echocardiography to rule out blood clot in the left atrium, or else the patient is pretreate...Continue Reading

References

Mar 1, 1985·Stroke; a Journal of Cerebral Circulation·M Britton, C Gustafsson
Apr 29, 1982·The New England Journal of Medicine·W B KannelP M McNamara
Jun 1, 1994·Journal of the American College of Cardiology·W J ManningP S Douglas
Dec 6, 2002·The New England Journal of Medicine·D G WyseUNKNOWN Atrial Fibrillation Follow-up Investigation of Rhythm Management (AFFIRM) Investigators
Dec 6, 2002·The New England Journal of Medicine·Isabelle C Van GelderUNKNOWN Rate Control versus Electrical Cardioversion for Persistent Atrial Fibrillation Study Group
Aug 15, 1963·The New England Journal of Medicine·B LOWND E HARKEN
Dec 9, 2003·International Journal of Cardiology·Ijaz A Khan
Jan 24, 2004·Cardiac Electrophysiology Review·Suneet MittalBruce B Lerman
Mar 5, 2004·Cardiology Clinics·Jose A Joglar, Robert C Kowal
Jun 21, 2008·The New England Journal of Medicine·Denis RoyUNKNOWN Atrial Fibrillation and Congestive Heart Failure Investigators
Jan 21, 2009·Europace : European Pacing, Arrhythmias, and Cardiac Electrophysiology : Journal of the Working Groups on Cardiac Pacing, Arrhythmias, and Cardiac Cellular Electrophysiology of the European Society of Cardiology·Michael NabauerGerhard Steinbeck
Sep 1, 2009·The New England Journal of Medicine·Stuart J ConnollyUNKNOWN RE-LY Steering Committee and Investigators
Feb 18, 2010·The American Journal of Emergency Medicine·Johann ReisingerPeter Siostrzonek
May 3, 2011·Clinical Research in Cardiology : Official Journal of the German Cardiac Society·Thomas MeinertzUNKNOWN ATRIUM investigators
Jan 10, 2012·Europace : European Pacing, Arrhythmias, and Cardiac Electrophysiology : Journal of the Working Groups on Cardiac Pacing, Arrhythmias, and Cardiac Cellular Electrophysiology of the European Society of Cardiology·Ron PistersUNKNOWN Euro Heart Survey Investigators
Jan 28, 2012·Deutsches Ärzteblatt International·Hans-Joachim Trappe
May 5, 2012·Heart, Lung & Circulation·Kugathasan Nadarasa, Michael J A Williams
May 21, 2013·Europace : European Pacing, Arrhythmias, and Cardiac Electrophysiology : Journal of the Working Groups on Cardiac Pacing, Arrhythmias, and Cardiac Cellular Electrophysiology of the European Society of Cardiology·Toni GrönbergK E Juhani Airaksinen
May 21, 2013·Current Emergency and Hospital Medicine Reports·Mohammed AlquwaizaniJohn Fanikos
May 28, 2013·Europace : European Pacing, Arrhythmias, and Cardiac Electrophysiology : Journal of the Working Groups on Cardiac Pacing, Arrhythmias, and Cardiac Cellular Electrophysiology of the European Society of Cardiology·Antonio Hernández-MadridUNKNOWN Scientific Initiatives Committee, European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA)
Jul 16, 2013·Journal of the American College of Cardiology·K E Juhani AiraksinenJuha E K Hartikainen
Sep 24, 2013·The American Journal of Medicine·Nasir ShariffAli Ahmed
Oct 3, 2013·Europace : European Pacing, Arrhythmias, and Cardiac Electrophysiology : Journal of the Working Groups on Cardiac Pacing, Arrhythmias, and Cardiac Cellular Electrophysiology of the European Society of Cardiology·Paulus KirchhofJose Luis Zamorano
Oct 5, 2013·Netherlands Heart Journal : Monthly Journal of the Netherlands Society of Cardiology and the Netherlands Heart Foundation·I LimantoroY Blaauw
Feb 22, 2014·International Journal of Cardiology·Harry J G M CrijnsJean-Yves Le Heuzey
May 14, 2014·Clinical Research in Cardiology : Official Journal of the German Cardiac Society·Koji HanazawaJ Christoph Geller
Jun 3, 2014·Annals of Internal Medicine·Sana M Al-KhatibGillian D Sanders
Sep 4, 2014·European Heart Journal·Riccardo CappatoStefan H Hohnloser
Sep 19, 2014·Europace : European Pacing, Arrhythmias, and Cardiac Electrophysiology : Journal of the Working Groups on Cardiac Pacing, Arrhythmias, and Cardiac Cellular Electrophysiology of the European Society of Cardiology·Morten Lock HansenChristian Torp-Pedersen
Sep 23, 2014·Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography : Official Publication of the American Society of Echocardiography·Alberto CrestiSilva Severi

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Citations

Jul 7, 2016·Deutsches Ärzteblatt International·Hermann H Klein
Jul 7, 2016·Deutsches Ärzteblatt International·Michael Kuklinski
Dec 23, 2021·Laryngo- rhino- otologie·Stephanie JeschkeArmin Steffen

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

Atrial Filbrillation

Atrial fibrillation refers to the abnormal heart rhythm characterized by rapid and irregular beating of the atria. Here is the latest research.

Acute Stroke

A stroke occurs when blood supply to the brain is interrupted depriving the brain of oxygen and nutrients. This feed focuses cerebrovascular accidents including ischemic and paralytic stroke.

Atrial Fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation is a common arrhythmia that is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality, particularly due to stroke and thromboembolism. Here is the latest research.

Arrhythmia

Arrhythmias are abnormalities in heart rhythms, which can be either too fast or too slow. They can result from abnormalities of the initiation of an impulse or impulse conduction or a combination of both. Here is the latest research on arrhythmias.

Antiarrhythmic Agents: Mechanisms of Action

Understanding the mechanism of action of antiarrhythmic agents is essential in developing new medications as treatment of cardiac arrhythmias is currently limited by the reduced availability of safe and effective drugs. Discover the latest research on Antiarrhythmic Agents: Mechanism of Action here.

Anti-Arrhythmic Drug Therapies

Anti-arrhythmic drugs are used to prevent abnormal heart rhythms. These medications are used in conditions including, ventricular tachycardia, ventricular fibrillation and atrial fibrillation. Discover the latest research on anti-arrhythmic drug therapies here.

Blood Clotting Disorders

Thrombophilia includes conditions with increased tendency for excessive blood clotting. Blood clotting occurs when the body has insufficient amounts of specialized proteins that make blood clot and stop bleeding. Here is the latest research on blood clotting disorders.