Perfil clínico de los pacientes con fibrilación auricular persistente remitidos a cardioversión: Registro sobre la cardioversión en España (REVERSE) / Clinical Characteristics of Patients With Persistent Atrial Fibrillation Referred for Cardioversion: Spanish Cardioversion Registry (REVERSE)

ABSTRACT

The objectives were to investigate the treatment andclinical characteristics of patients referred forcardioversion in Spain and to compare them with thosereported in the AFFIRM (Atrial Fibrillation Follow-upInvestigation of Rhythm Management) and RACE (RAteControl versus Electrical cardioversion) studies. Theprospective study involved 1515 consecutive patients withpersistent atrial fibrillation who were referred forcardioversion at 96 Spanish hospitals. Half of the patients were being treated with Vaughan-Williams group-I or -III antiarrhythmic drugs. The most frequently used approach to anticoagulation was to administer dicoumarins 3–4 weeks before and after cardioversion. Our patients were younger than those in the AFFIRM and RACE studies. Compared with AFFIRM patients, our patients had a lower prevalence of previous embolism, ischemic heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, and systolic dysfunction. Compared with RACE patients, our patients had a lower prevalence of ischemic heart disease and previous embolism, but a slightly higher prevalence of hypertension and diabetes. We conclude that patients referred for cardioversion in Spain clearly had a lower cardiovascular risk profile than those in the AFFIRM study, and appeared to have a lower risk profile than those in the RACE study (AU)