RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a major risk factor for ischaemic stroke (IS) and transient ischaemic attack (TIA). The timely detection of first-diagnosed or "new" AF (nAF) would prompt a switch from antiplatelets to anticoagulation to reduce the risk of stroke recurrence; however, the optimal timing and duration of rhythm monitoring to detect nAF remains unclear. AIMS: We searched MEDLINE, PubMed, Cochrane database, and Google Scholar to undertake a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCT) between 2012 and 2023 investigating nAF detection after IS and TIA. Outcome measures were overall detection of nAF (control; (usual care) compared to intervention; (continuous cardiac monitoring >72 h)) and the time period in which nAF detection is highest (0-14 days, 15-90 days, 91-180 days, or 181-365 days). A random-effects model with generic inverse variance weights was used to pool the most adjusted effect measure from each trial. SUMMARY OF REVIEW: A total of eight RCTs investigated rhythm monitoring after IS, totaling 5820 patients. The meta-analysis of the studies suggested that continuous cardiac monitoring was associated with a pooled odds ratio of 3.81 (95% CI 2.14 to 6.77), compared to usual care (control), for nAF detection. In the time period analysis, the odds ratio for nAF detection at 0-14 days, 15-90 days, 91-180 days, 181-365 days were 1.79 (1.24-2.58); 2.01 (0.63-6.37); 0.98 (0.16-5.90); and 2.92 (1.30-6.56), respectively. CONCLUSION: There is an almost fourfold increase in nAF detection with continuous cardiac monitoring, compared to usual care. The results also demonstrate two statistically significant time periods in nAF detection; at 0-14 days and 6-12 months following monitoring commencement. These data support the utilization of different monitoring methods to cover both time periods and a minimum of 1 year of monitoring to maximize nAF detection in patients after IS and TIA.
RESUMEN
Elevated right ventricular pacing (RVP) burdens are associated with the development of pacing-induced cardiomyopathy. This association is alluded to in the recent European and American pacing guidelines where anticipated pacing burden forms part of the indications for conduction system pacing. Understanding the temporal pattern of RVP burden is important with respect to anticipating future burden and ensuring that the most appropriate pacing modality is selected for patients. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to assess how RVP burden changes over time in different pacing indications. A retrospective, single-center, observational study was performed. RVP burdens from pacing checks were extracted and plotted against 6-month time "bins." Graphical plots of RVP burdens for different pacing indications were produced. There was no significant change in the RVP burden across time, independent of the initial pacing indication. Individuals with sinus node disease (SND) and a P-R interval of >250 ms had increased RVP burden. Other than patients with SND and a P-R interval of <250 ms, individuals had pacing burdens higher than those proposed in both the European and American pacing guidelines for conduction system pacing.
RESUMEN
Sepsis can lead to cardiac arrhythmias, of which the most common is atrial fibrillation (AF). Sepsis is associated with up to a six-fold higher risk of developing AF, where it occurs most commonly in the first 3 days of hospital admission. In many patients, AF detected during sepsis is the first documented episode of AF, either as an unmasking of sub-clinical AF or as a newly developed arrhythmia. In the short term, sepsis that is complicated by AF leads to longer hospital stays and an increased risk of inpatient mortality. Sepsis-driven AF can also increase an individual's risk of inpatient stroke by nearly 3-fold, compared to sepsis patients without AF. In the long-term, it is estimated that up to 50% of patients have recurrent episodes of AF within 1-year of their episode of sepsis. The common perception that once the precipitating illness is treated or sinus rhythm is restored the risk of stroke is removed is incorrect. For clinicians, there is a paucity of evidence on how to reduce an individual's risk of stroke after developing AF during sepsis, including whether to start anticoagulation. This is pertinent when considering that more patients are surviving episodes of sepsis and are left with post-sepsis sequalae such as AF. This review provides a summary on the literature available surrounding sepsis-driven AF, focusing on AF recurrence and ischaemic stroke risk. Using this, pragmatic advice to clinicians on how to better detect and reduce an individual's stroke risk after developing AF during sepsis is discussed.