CorSalud (Sep 2009)
CARACTERIZACIÓN CLÍNICA Y PRONÓSTICA DE LA FIBRILACIÓN AURICULAR POR VÍA ACCESORIA / Clinical and prognostic characterization of atrial fibrillation due to an accessory pathway
Abstract
Introduction and objectives: Atrial fibrillation is the most common arrhythmia in adults, with a prevalence of 0.4 percent in the general population. It is the main cause of embolic events and serious hemodynamic alterations, having important clinical, social and economic repercussions. Besides, it is the second most frequent arrhythmia in patients with an accessory pathway. The objective of the study is to characterise atrial fibrillation with anterograde conduction through an accessory pathway. Method: A descriptive, prospective and longitudinal study was carried out in 26 patients who were treated at the Cardiac Electrophysiology Services of the Ernesto Che Guevara Cardiology Hospital in Santa Clara during a year period. The variables related to the prevalence of atrial fibrillation, risk factors, circumstances of appearance, therapeutic options and predictors of sudden death, were studied. Results: It was determined a prevalence 34.2 percent with a predominance of the male gender. The most important risk factor was the existence of previous events of atrial fibrillation in 35 percent of the patients, which appeared most frequently during rest periods. There was a predominance of the left pathways (54 %) and 84 percent of the patients required medication to achieve an acute reversion. Conclusions: Pre-excited atrial fibrillation presents an important prevalence in our environment. There was a predominance of the male gender and the left pathways. The mean RR interval during the pre-excitation was 213 milliseconds and there were minimal RR intervals of less than 170 milliseconds.
