Atrial High-Rate Episodes Linked to Stroke and Atrial Fibrillation

Patients with episodes lasting more than 24 hours faced particularly high risks.

Researchers in Denmark investigated the prognostic value of early detected atrial high-rate episodes (AHREs) in patients with cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) devices. This observational study included 394 patients who underwent CRT implantation and had no history of atrial fibrillation (AF).

Six months after device implantation, 79 patients (20%) had at least one detected AHRE lasting longer than 6 minutes; in 27 of these patients, the longest AHRE lasted >24 hours. Clinical AF (discharge diagnosis of AF or atrial flutter) was diagnosed in 6 patients with AHRE.

At a median follow-up of 2.4 years, clinical AF occurred in 79 patients. The annual rate of clinical AF was significantly higher in patients with early detected AHRE than in th…

Reviewing Author

Joel M. Gore, MD

Disclosures

Grant/Research SupportNIH–National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Joel M. Gore, MD

Disclosures

Grant/Research SupportNIH–National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Atrial High-Rate Episodes Linked to Stroke and Atrial Fibrillation

Topics

Reviewing Author