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Clinical Subtypes of Lone Atrial Fibrillation
Author(s) -
PATTON KRISTEN K.,
ZACKS ERAN S.,
CHANG JOSEPH Y.,
SHEA MARISA A.,
RUSKIN JEREMY N.,
MACRAE CALUM A.,
ELLINOR PATRICK T.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
pacing and clinical electrophysiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.686
H-Index - 101
eISSN - 1540-8159
pISSN - 0147-8389
DOI - 10.1111/j.1540-8159.2005.00161.x
Subject(s) - medicine , atrial fibrillation , family history , cardiology , medical history , paroxysmal atrial fibrillation , physical examination , physical therapy , pediatrics
Aims: In the face of increasing evidence of underlying genetic heterogeneity for lone atrial fibrillation (LAF), we undertook a clinical analysis of subjects to identify the phenotypic subsets of this arrhythmia.Methods and Results: We evaluated serial patients who presented with LAF between July 5, 2001 and December 19, 2003. Subjects underwent a standardized interview to elicit a detailed medical history, prior therapies, and precipitants of atrial fibrillation. The results of a physical exam, electrocardiogram and echocardiogram were reviewed. One hundred and eighty subjects with a mean age of 45 years (15–67 years) at the time of diagnosis were enrolled. The majority of patients originally presented with paroxysmal fibrillation (94%), and 7.8% progressed to permanent AF. Reported triggers for AF included sleeping (44%), exercise (36%), alcohol use (36%), and eating (34%). Women with LAF had distinct symptoms, triggers for episodic AF, and over one‐fourth had an underlying rheumatologic condition. Several subsets of AF including familial AF (39%), exercise‐induced AF (32%), and conduction system disease requiring pacemaker implantation (7%), were identified.Conclusions: Family history, exercise as a trigger of AF, and a history of a pacemaker identified subtypes of LAF.