Rhythm Management of the Atrial Fibrillation Patient

Atrial fibrillation(AF) is the most common sustained cardiac arrhythmia, occurring in 1–2 % of the general population and is increasingly prevalent in older people, occuring in about 10 % of over 80 year olds. It is strongly associated with stroke risk and a variety of cardiovascular conditions. The arrhythmia is associated with a five-fold rise in stroke risk and frequently coexists with heart failure, both leading to a further increase in mortality.Atrial fibrillation early detection is of paramount importance, in order to define proper medical treatment.

This can be challenging due to the often silent and intermittent nature of the rhythm disturbance in the atrial fibrillation patient. Long-term external ECG monitoring may be very helpful, but if less than fully continuous and of long duration it will be not reliable. For this reason continuous monitoring of the atrial fibrillation patient is of increased importance, and outcome measurements of AF treatment trials will be based on the AF burden detected by insertable cardiac monitors (ICM) or therapeutic devices such as pacemakers or ICDs, leading to the paradigm that the detection of AF in the presence of thromboembolic risk factors should be performed wherever possible in order to improve patients’ chances.

Rhythm Management of the Atrial Fibrillation Patient will be the subject of a symposium for Biosensewebster-ESC2014 in Barcelona this September. Delegates hear about real world scenarios, including identifying best patient selection for catheter ablation. It also aims to foster a “shared care” approach between the electrophysiologist and cardiologist. Interested parties can register by visiting: biosensewebster-ESC2014. The first session will be moderated by Professor Karl-Heinz Kuck. German cardiologist and scientist, Professor Kuck is head of the Department of Cardiology at the Asklepios Klinik St. Georg in Hamburg and expert on the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias.