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The recent Atrial Fibrillation Management in Congestive Heart Failure With Ablation (AMICA) trial did not reveal any benefit of catheter ablation in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), advanced heart failure (HF), and severely reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). We hypothesized that radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) could improve outcomes in HF patients with AF and impaired left ventricular systolic function (LVEF50%) as compared with only medical therapy.We searched the literature for randomized clinical trials (RCTs) that compared RFCA to medical therapy in this population.Compared with the medical therapy group, the RFCA group had significantly less all-cause mortality, HF hospitalization, and AF recurrence rates. The RFCA group had significantly higher peak oxygen consumption (VO 2 max), a better quality of life (Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire score), and improved LVEF. However, RFCA for AF failed to reduce all-cause mortality in a specific meta-analysis of four RCTs that enrolled patients with LVEF ≤35%.Compared with medical therapy, RFCA for AF in the setting of HF with impaired systolic function is associated with better clinical (HF hospitalization and all-cause mortality), structural (LVEF improvement), functional (VO 2 max), and quality of life outcomes. However, RFCA for AF failed to reduce all-cause mortality in RCTs that enrolled patients with LVEF ≤35%, and thereby indicated the necessary stratification to identify patients who may benefit more from RFCA.

Background: The presence of abnormal substrate of left atrium is a predictor of atrial fibrillation (AF) recurrence after pulmonary vein isolation. We aimed to investigate the isochronal late activation mapping to access the abnormal conduction velocity for predicting AF ablation outcome. Methods: Forty-five paroxysmal AF patients (30 males, 57.8±8.7 years old) who underwent pulmonary vein isolation were enrolled. Isochronal late activation mapping was retrospectively constructed with 2 different windows of interest: from onset of P wave to onset of QRS wave on surface electrocardiography (W1) and 74 ms tracking back from the end of P wave (W2). Deceleration zone was defined as regions with 3 isochrones (DZa) or ≥4 isochrones (DZb) within a 1 cm radius on the isochronal late activation mapping, and the estimated conduction velocity (ECV) are 0.27 m/s and Results: Pulmonary vein isolation was performed in all patients, and there were 2 patients (4.4%) received additional extrapulmonary vein ablation. After a mean follow-up of 12.7±4.5 months, recurrence of AF occurred in 14 patients (31.1%). Patients with the presence of DZb in W2 had higher AF recurrence (Kaplan-Meier event rate estimates: HR, 9.41 [95% CI, 2.61–33.90]; log-rank P Conclusions: Deceleration zone detected by isochronal late activation mapping represents a critical AF substrate, it accurately predicts the AF recurrence following ablation in patients with paroxysmal AF.

BACKGROUND A recent study suggested to develop and implement more interacted material for preprocedural education to decrease patients' anxiety about the atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation. This study compared the effectiveness of using either newly developed virtual reality (VR) materials (VR group) or paper-based materials (paper group) on giving AF preprocedural education. METHODS This study consequentially enrolled 33 AF patients preparing for ablation from November 2019 to October 2020. After enrollment, patients were randomized as either paper (n = 22) or VR (n = 11) groups. RESULTS In comparison with the baseline stage, at the posteducation stage, the degree of improvement in patients' self-assessed self-efficacy on AF ablation knowledge was higher among VR group patients than those in the paper group. At the posteducation stage, the patients' satisfaction to preprocedural education and used materials were higher among the VR group than that among the paper group. In addition to meet their needs and give accurate medical information, VR group patients reported that VR materials increased the effectiveness of education, increased their preparedness for AF catheter ablation, achieved paperless purposes, and willing to recommend VR materials to others. Operators subjectively reported that the periprocedure cooperation was increased both among paper and VR group patients after preprocedural education for the details of procedure. Better preparedness of VR group patients was supported by less periprocedure pain, anxiety, and impatience than those among paper group patients. CONCLUSION Interactive VR-based materials are superior to the paper-based materials to provide patients immerse and imagine the journey and detail knowledge of AF catheter ablation before the procedure and better prepared patients for the procedure.

Background and Purpose— In the daily practice, low-dose nonvitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants are commonly used among Asian patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). The aim of the present study was to compare the risks of ischemic stroke, intracranial hemorrhage, and net clinical benefit of Asian patients with AF treated with off-label low-dose and on-label dosing rivaroxaban. Methods— A total of 2214 patients with AF aged ≥20 years treated with rivaroxaban at a tertiary medical center in Taiwan were studied. Patients were categorized into 2 groups: (1) on-label dose (n=1630): ROCKET-AF or J-ROCKET dosage criteria; and (2) off-label low-dose (10 mg/d for patients with an estimated glomerulus filtration rate >50 mL/min, n=584). The risks of ischemic stroke and intracranial hemorrhage were compared between 2 groups. Results— Compared with the on-label dose group, off-label low-dose rivaroxaban was associated with an increased risk of ischemic stroke with an adjusted hazard ratio of 2.75; 95% CI =1.62–4.69; P P =0.213). Compared with off-label low-dose group, on-label dosing rivaroxaban was associated with a positive net clinical benefit in different weighted models. The results were consistent among the propensity-matched cohort. Conclusions— Off-label low-dosing rivaroxaban should be avoided for Asian patients with AF giving the higher risk of ischemic stroke without risk reduction in intracranial hemorrhage compared with on-label dosing.

Catheter ablation provides a therapeutic option for decreasing episodes of ventricular tachycardia in patients with coronary artery disease. Clinical studies show improvement with catheter ablation in reducing arrhythmia recurrence and therapy from implantable defibrillators, but not in decreasing mortality. Ablation can be an important tool for patients with electrical storm. Overall, complication rates of catheter ablation are acceptable, but recurrence rates are still significant. Advances in mapping and ablation technologies could be expected to improve the success rates and reduce the mortality.

Bilirubin is associated with different cardiovascular diseases. The relationship between bilirubin and atrial fibrillation (AF) remains unclear. The aim of this study is to determine the association between bilirubin and AF recurrence after catheter ablation.A total of 212 patients who received AF ablation were retrospectively studied. The total bilirubin level, clinical characteristics, and echocardiographic findings were analyzed to predict the outcome of AF ablations.During a mean follow-up period of 12.2 ± 5.8 months, 61 (28.8%) patients had AF recurrence after catheter ablation. The patients with AF recurrence had a larger left atrial (LA) diameter (39.8 ± 6.3 versus 36.7 ± 5.8 mm; p = 0.001) and higher total bilirubin levels (0.82 ± 0.37 versus 0.63 ± 0.29 mg/dL; p0.001) than those without recurrence. The patients with recurrence had higher direct and indirect bilirubin levels than patients without recurrence. The total bilirubin level remained an independent predictor of AF recurrence after multivariate analysis (odds ratio, 4.95; 95% CI, 1.65-14.83; p = 0.004). We identified a cut point of the total bilirubin level for predicting AF recurrence by receiver operator characteristic curve (cut point, 0.7 mg/dL; area under the curve, 0.65; p0.001). The total bilirubin levels were positively correlated with the neutrophil counts. However, there were no associations among the total bilirubin level, left atrial (LA) diameter, and voltage.Higher serum bilirubin levels were associated with AF recurrence in paroxysmal AF patients following catheter ablation.

Background: Little is known regarding the impact of socioeconomic factors on the use of evidence-based therapies and outcomes in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction across Asia. Methods: We investigated the association of both patient-level (household income, education levels) and country-level (regional income level by World Bank classification, income disparity by Gini index) socioeconomic indicators on use of guideline-directed therapy and clinical outcomes (composite of 1-year mortality or HF hospitalization, quality of life) in the prospective multinational ASIAN-HF study (Asian Sudden Cardiac Death in Heart Failure). Results: Among 4540 patients (mean age: 60±13 years, 23% women) with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, 39% lived in low-income regions; 34% in regions with high-income disparity (Gini ≥42.8%); 64.4% had low monthly household income (P interaction Conclusions: These findings highlight the importance of socioeconomic determinants among patients with heart failure in Asia and suggest that attention should be paid to address disparities in access to care among the poor and less educated, including those from wealthy regions. Registration: URL: https://clinicaltrials.gov ; Unique Identifier: NCT01633398.

Background and Purpose— The risk of stroke in patients with short-run atrial tachyarrhythmia (AT) remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between short-run AT and the stroke and the use of the CHA 2 DS 2 -VASc score for the risk stratification. Methods— From the registry of 24-hour Holter monitoring, 5342 subjects without known atrial fibrillation or stroke were enrolled. Short-run AT was defined as episodes of supraventricular ectopic beats Results— There were 1595 subjects (29.8%) with short-run AT. During the median follow-up period of 9.0 years, 494 subjects developed new-onset stroke. Patients with short-run AT had significantly higher stroke rates compared with patients without short-run AT (11.4% versus 8.3%; P 2 DS 2 -VASc score of 0 and 1 were 0.23 and 0.67, respectively. However, the number of them for patients with CHA 2 DS 2 -VASc score of 2, 3, 4, and ≥5 were 1.62, 1.89, 1.30, and 2.91, respectively. In patients with CHA 2 DS 2 -VASc score of 0 or 1, age (>61 years old) and burden of premature atrial contractions (>25 beats/d) independently predicted the risk of stroke. In subgroup analyses, short-run AT patients were divided into 3 groups based on their CHA 2 DS 2 -VASc scores: low score (score of 0 [men] or 1 [women]; n=324), intermediate score (score of 1 [men] or 2 [women]; n=275), and high score (score of ≥2 [men] or ≥3 [women]; n=996). When compared with low score, intermediate and high scores were independent predictors for stroke (hazard ratio, 6.165; P P Conclusions— Short-run AT increases the risk of stroke. Therefore, the CHA 2 DS 2 -VASc score could be used for the risk stratification. Age and burden of premature atrial contractions were independent predictors for stroke in patients with CHA 2 DS 2 -VASc score of 0 or 1.

Background and Purpose— The age threshold for an increased stroke risk for patients with atrial fibrillation may be different for Asians and non-Asians. We hypothesized that a modified CHA 2 DS 2 -VASc (congestive heart failure, hypertension, age ≥75, diabetes mellitus, prior stroke or transient ischemic attack, vascular disease, age 65–74 years, female) scheme, mCHA 2 DS 2 -VASc, which assigned one point for patients aged 50 to 74 years, may perform better than CHA 2 DS 2 -VASc score for stroke risk stratification in Asians. Methods— This study used the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database, which included 224 866 newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation patients. The predictive accuracies of ischemic stroke of CHA 2 DS 2 -VASc and mCHA 2 DS 2 -VASc scores were compared among 124 271 patients without antithrombotic therapies. From the whole cohort, 15 948 patients had a CHA 2 DS 2 -VASc score 0 (males) or 1 (females), and 8654 patients had an mCHA 2 DS 2 -VASc score 1 (males) or 2 (females). The latter were categorized into 3 groups, that is, no treatment, antiplatelet therapy, and warfarin, and the risks of ischemic stroke and intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) were compared. Results— During a follow-up of 538 653 person-years, 21 008 patients experienced ischemic stroke. The mCHA 2 DS 2 -VASc performed better than CHA 2 DS 2 -VASc score in predicting ischemic stroke assessed by C indexes and net reclassification index. For 8654 patients having an mCHA 2 DS 2 -VASc score of 1 (males) or 2 (females) because of the resetting of the age threshold, use of warfarin was associated with a 30% lower risk of ischemic stroke and a similar risk of ICH compared with nontreatment. Net clinical benefit analyses also favored the use of warfarin in different weighted models. Conclusions— In this Asian atrial fibrillation cohort, the mCHA 2 DS 2 -VASc score performed better than the CHA 2 DS 2 -VASc and would further identify atrial fibrillation patients who may derive a positive net clinical benefit from oral anticoagulation.

Special circumstances may require the measurement of the anticoagulant effect of dabigatran etexilate. No data currently link any given coagulation test to bleeding outcomes in patients receiving dabigatran etexilate for atrial fibrillation. Nonvalvular atrial fibrillation patients receiving dabigatran etexilate of 110 mg (DE110) or 150 mg (DE150) were consecutively enrolled. The hemoclot thrombin inhibitor (HTI) assay, prothrombin time, and activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) measurements were correlated with bleeding events during a prospective follow-up. There were 17 bleeding events (8.2%) in 208 patients (74.7 ± 10.3 years old, 67.9% male, median follow-up: 364 days), whereas 15 patients with bleeding events used DE110. Compared with DE110, the patients receiving DE150 were younger and more often male and had lower HAS-BLED and CHA2DS2VASc scores and better renal function. Patients' HTI levels were very variable (DE110, 10-90th percentile: 20.5-223.9 ng/ml). A receiver-operator characteristic curve gave a median cutoff HTI level of 117.7 ng/ml to predict bleeding events (C-statistics: 0.65; P = 0.036), but no cutoff could be determined for prothrombin time or APTT. Based on the Kaplan-Meier analysis, a dabigatran etexilate level greater than 117.7 ng/ml was associated with a higher bleeding rate (15.4% vs. 4.9%, P = 0.01). After multivariate Cox regression analysis, HTI levels, history of stroke, and male sex were independent risk factors for bleeding events. Dabigatran etexilate-HTI levels were independently associated with bleeding in patients receiving routine clinical care. Blood sampling at multiple time points might be needed to increase reliability because of high variation of dabigatran etexilate-HTI levels.

Background Frequent ventricular premature complexes ( VPC s) can lead to the development of dilated cardiomyopathy and sudden cardiac death. Renal artery sympathetic denervation ( RDN ) may protect the heart from remodeling. This study aimed to investigate the effect of frequent VPC s on structural and electrical properties and whether RDN can protect the heart from remodeling. Methods and Results Eighteen rabbits were randomized to control (n=6), VPC (n=6), and VPC ‐ RDN (n=6) groups. Surgical and chemical RDN s were approached through bilateral retroperitoneal flank incisions in the VPC ‐ RDN group. Pacemakers were implanted to the left ventricular apex to produce 50% VPC burden for 5 weeks in the VPC and VPC ‐ RDN groups. In addition, ventricular myocardium was harvested for western blot and trichrome stain. Echocardiographic results showed left ventricular enlargement after 5‐week pacing in the VPC group, but not in the VPC ‐ RDN group, when compared to baseline. In biventricles, ion channel protein expressions of Nav1.5, Cav1.2, Kir2.1, and SERCA 2 were similar among 3 groups. However, the degree of biventricular fibrosis was extensive in the VPC group, compared to the control and VPC ‐ RDN groups. Importantly, ventricular fibrillation inducibility was higher in the VPC group (41%) when comparing to the control (13%; P VPC ‐ RDN groups (13%; P Conclusions Frequent VPC s are associated with the development of cardiac structural remodeling and high ventricular fibrillation inducibility. RDN prevents cardiac remodeling and the occurrence of ventricular arrhythmia through antifibrosis.

Background Recent studies demonstrated that oral anticoagulants (OACs) should be considered for patients with atrial fibrillation and 1 risk factor in addition to sex. Because age is an important determinant of ischemic stroke, the strategy for stroke prevention may be different for these patients in different age strata. The aim of this study was to investigate whether OACs should be considered for patients aged 20 to 49 years with atrial fibrillation and a CHA 2 DS 2 ‐VASc score of 1 (men) or 2 (women). Methods and Results Using the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database, 7374 male patients with atrial fibrillation and a CHA 2 DS 2 ‐VASc score of 1 and 4461 female patients with atrial fibrillation and a CHA 2 DS 2 ‐VASc score of 2 and all without antithrombotic therapies were identified and stratified into 3 groups by age. The threshold for the initiation of OACs for stroke prevention was set at a stroke rate of 1.7% per year for warfarin and 0.9% per year for non–vitamin K antagonist OACs. Among male patients aged 20 to 49 years with a CHA 2 DS 2 ‐VASc score of 1, the risk of ischemic stroke was 1.30% per year and ranged from 0.94% per year for those with hypertension to 1.71% for those with congestive heart failure. Among female patients aged 20 to 49 years with a CHA 2 DS 2 ‐VASc score of 2, the risk of ischemic stroke was 1.40% per year and ranged from 1.11% per year for those with hypertension to 1.67% for those with congestive heart failure. Conclusions For atrial fibrillation patients aged 20 to 49 years with 1 risk factor in addition to sex, non–vitamin K antagonist OACs should be considered for stroke prevention to minimize the risk of a potentially fatal or disabling event.

We would like to thank Drs Chan and Siu and Drs Yang, An, and Xu for their comments on our recently published article investigating the optimal stroke prevention strategy for patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) with a history of intracranial hemorrhage (ICH).1 We agree that not all ICHs share the same recurrence risk, and the net clinical benefits of warfarin could possibly be offset when a different weight (such as 1.5) is applied for an ICH event. However, in the historic trials, warfarin decreases not only the risk of ischemic stroke but also the risk of all-cause mortality by 26%.2 In the Danish study by …

Background and Purpose— Atrial fibrillation (AF) is an independent risk factor for stroke. Recent studies have demonstrated that the CHA 2 DS 2 -VASc scheme is useful for selecting patients who are truly at low risk. The goal of the present study was to compare the risk of ischemic stroke among AF patients with a CHA 2 DS 2 -VASc score of 0 (male) or 1 (female) with those without AF. Methods— The study enrolled 509 males (CHA 2 DS 2 -VASc score=0) and 320 females (CHA 2 DS 2 -VASc score=1) with AF who did not receive any antithrombotic therapy. Patients were selected from the National Health Insurance Research Database in Taiwan. For each study patient, 10 age-matched and sex-matched subjects without AF and without any comorbidity from the CHA 2 DS 2 -VASc scheme were selected as controls. The clinical end point was the occurrence of ischemic stroke. Results— During a follow-up of 57.4±35.7 months, 128 patients (1.4%) experienced ischemic stroke. The event rate did not differ between groups with and without AF for male patients (1.6% vs 1.6%; P =0.920). In contrast, AF was a significant risk factor for ischemic stroke among females (hazard ratio, 7.77), with event rates of 4.4% and 0.7% for female patients with and without AF ( P Conclusions— AF males with a CHA 2 DS 2 -VASc score of 0 were at true low risk for stroke, which was similar to that of non-AF patients. However, AF females with a score of 1 were still at higher risk for ischemic events than non-AF patients.

Background The prognostic significance of premature atrial complex ( PAC ) burden is not fully elucidated. We aimed to investigate the relationship between the burden of PAC s and long‐term outcome. Methods and Results We investigated the clinical characteristics of 5371 consecutive patients without atrial fibrillation ( AF ) or a permanent pacemaker ( PPM ) at baseline who underwent 24‐hour electrocardiography monitoring between January 1, 2002, and December 31, 2004. Clinical event data were retrieved from the Bureau of National Health Insurance of Taiwan. During a mean follow‐up duration of 10±1 years, there were 1209 deaths, 1166 cardiovascular‐related hospitalizations, 3104 hospitalizations for any reason, 418 cases of new‐onset AF , and 132 PPM implantations. The optimal cut‐off of PAC burden for predicting mortality was 76 beats per day, with a sensitivity of 63.1% and a specificity of 63.5%. In multivariate analysis, a PAC burden >76 beats per day was an independent predictor of mortality (hazard ratio: 1.384, 95% CI : 1.230 to 1.558), cardiovascular hospitalization (hazard ratio: 1.284, 95% CI : 1.137 to 1.451), new‐onset AF (hazard ratio: 1.757, 95% CI : 1.427 to 2.163), and PPM implantation (hazard ratio: 2.821, 95% CI : 1.898 to 4.192). Patients with frequent PAC had increased risk of mortality attributable to myocardial infarction, heart failure, and sudden cardiac death. Frequent PAC s increased risk of PPM implantation owing to sick sinus syndrome, high‐degree atrioventricular block, and/or AF . Conclusions The burden of PAC s is independently associated with mortality, cardiovascular hospitalization, new‐onset AF , and PPM implantation in the long term.

The incidence of acute myocarditis complicated with ventricular tachycardia (VT) is unknown. This study aimed to investigate the association between myocarditis and the incidence of VT and mortality. We also aimed to determine the independent predictors that increased the VT risk in those patients. From 2000 to 2004, 13,250 patients with a history of myocarditis were identified from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. The same number of individuals without heart disease with a matched sex and underlying diseases were selected as the control group. The long-term risks of life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias and mortality in patients with a history of myocarditis were investigated by an adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression. After a mean follow-up of 10.4 ± 2.94 years (interquartile range: 12, 10.19–12), the myocarditis patients showed a higher incidence of new onset VT events compared with healthy controls (5.4% [519 per 100,000 person-year] in the myocarditis group vs, 0.47% [43 per 100,000 person-year] in the healthy controls; adjusted hazard ratio [HR]: 16.1, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 12.4–20.9; P