Baseline Data from RecordAF Presented at American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions Today
NEW ORLEANS, Nov. 11 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Baseline data from the REgistry on Cardiac rhythm disORDers -- an international, observational, prospective survey assessing the control of Atrial Fibrillation (RecordAF) -- were presented today during the Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association Congress in New Orleans, USA.
RecordAF is the largest prospective international registry ever conducted in patients with paroxysmal or persistent atrial fibrillation (AF). More than 5,600 patients from 21 countries in North and South America, Europe and Asia were recruited to the RecordAF Registry by hospital and office-based cardiologists. The aim of the registry will be to evaluate the clinical outcomes of AF treatment strategies over one year.
"RecordAF data will be invaluable for identifying best practice, shaping future management and reducing the global burden of atrial fibrillation," said Professor Le Heuzey of L'Hôpital Européen Georges Pompidou, France and a member of the Registry's Scientific Council.
In order to accurately reflect clinical practice, the registry recruited either patients treated with any type of anti-arrhythmic medication or untreated patients who were eligible for a pharmacological treatment. Data were gathered at baseline, 6 and 12 months.
The RecordAF baseline data shows that cardiovascular (CV) risk factors and co-morbidities are common in patients with AF: 68 percent have hypertension, 42 percent have dyslipidemia, 26 percent have congestive heart failure, 18 percent are affected by coronary artery disease and 16 percent have diabetes. While the preferred treatment strategy is rhythm control (55 percent), rate control is more popular in Asia and the United States.
"These new baseline results will further our understanding of the co-morbidities associated with AF, such as cardiovascular disease, and the impact that they may have on treatment strategies," said Dr. Prystowsky of St Vincent Hospital, Indianapolis (USA) and a member of the Registry's Scientific Council. "The one year follow-up will assess the impact of different treatment strategies on clinical outcomes, providing a valuable resource for evaluating successful therapeutic options for long-term care of AF in a real life setting," he added.
Primarily a disease of old age, the incidence of AF is increasing as the population ages - it is the most common cardiac arrhythmia in clinical practice, affecting nearly seven million people in the European Union and the United States.(1),(2) An independent risk factor for sudden cardiac death,(3) AF is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide -- indeed the mortality rate among patients with AF is approximately double that of patients in normal sinus rhythm.(4) AF is associated with a near five-fold increase in the risk of ischemic stroke(5) and it aggravates heart failure.(6) About 75 percent of middle-aged subjects with AF will die or be hospitalized for a cardiovascular reason within 20 years -- a 2- to 3-fold increase compared with subjects without AF.(7) AF can also compromise quality of life if symptoms restrict patients' ability to perform everyday tasks.(8)
"AF is predicted to almost triple in the next 40 years, which will lead to an increase of CV morbidity and mortality. If we are to successfully manage AF and prevent its life-threatening complications, we have to fully understand what we are dealing with. RecordAF promises to deliver that deeper understanding," commented Professor Peter Kowey from Lankenau Hospital, Philadelphia (USA) and member of the Registry's Scientific Council.
RecordAF is supported by an educational grant from sanofi-aventis.
About RecordAF Registry
RecordAF (REgistry on Cardiac rhythm disORDers) is the first and only worldwide prospective registry on paroxysmal and persistent atrial fibrillation, established to provide a global picture of AF management. More than 5,600 patients have been recruited from countries in North and South America, Europe and Asia. Participating countries are: Austria, Belarus, Brazil, Colombia, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Korea, Mexico, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, United Kingdom and United States.
The primary objectives of RecordAF are to assess the therapeutic success of AF management strategies at 12 months follow-up and compare clinical outcomes between the two main strategies, rhythm control and rate control. The registry was launched in 2007 and one year follow-up data will be presented in 2009.
About Atrial Fibrillation
Atrial fibrillation affects nearly seven million people in the European Union and the United States.(1,2) A major cause of hospitalization and mortality, AF is the most common cardiac arrhythmia in clinical practice in which the upper chambers of the heart beat in an uncoordinated and disorganized fashion; this can lead to palpitations, shortness of breath and fatigue.
Although some patients are asymptomatic, it is important to diagnose and treat AF as, without appropriate management, it can lead to serious complications such as stroke and congestive heart failure. The main aims of treatment are to manage the arrhythmia and to prevent thromboembolism (obstruction of a blood vessel caused by fragments of a blood clot carried from the site of origin to obstruct another vessel). Typically, AF is managed either by a rhythm or rate control strategy using medication which either causes the heart rhythm to revert to normal or slows the heart rate.
1) Rhythm Control: Restoring (by electrical or pharmacological
cardioversion) and maintaining sinus rhythm with anti-arrhythmic drugs.
2) Rate Control: If cardioversion is unsuccessful, medication can
maintain a normal heart rate.
References
(1) Fuster V et al. ACC/AHA/ESC Guidelines. European Heart Journal 2006;
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fibrillation in adults: national implications for rhythm management
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Fibrillation (ATRIA) Study. JAMA 2001; 285:2370-5.
(3) Pedersen OD, Abildstrøm SZ, Ottesen MM, Rask-Madsen C, Bagger H, Køber
L, Torp-Pedersen C; TRACE Study Investigators. Increased risk of
sudden and non-sudden cardiovascular death in patients with atrial
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J. 2006 Feb;27(3):290-5. Epub 2005 Nov 2.
(4) Benjamin EJ, Wolf PA, D'Agostino RB, Silbershatz H, Kannel WB, Levy D.
Impact of atrial fibrillation on the risk of death: the Framingham
Heart Study. Circulation. 1998 Sep 8;98(10):946-52.
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risk factor for stroke: the Framingham Study. Stroke. 1991
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(6) Wang TJ, Larson MG, Levy D, Vasan RS, Leip EP, Wolf PA, D'Agostino RB,
Murabito JM, Kannel WB, Benjamin EJ. Temporal relations of atrial
fibrillation and congestive heart failure and their joint influence on
mortality: the Framingham Heart Study. Circulation 2003;107:2920-2925.
(7) Stewart S, Hart CL, Hole DJ, McMurray JJ. A population-based study of
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follow-up of the Renfrew/Paisley study. Am J Med. 2002;113:359-364
(8) Hamer ME, Blumenthal JA, McCarthy EA, Phillips BG, Pritchett EL.
Quality-of-life assessment in patients with paroxysmal atrial
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1994;74:826-829.
