Revisiting the Role of Antiarrhythmic Drugs in Prevention of Atrial Fibrillation Recurrence: A Single Center Retrospective Review

Abstract

Background: We conducted a retrospective analysis to revisit the efficacy of four different commonly used antiarrhythmic drugs (AADs) in a single community hospital setting in the U.S. We used cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) to continuously monitor the patients for maintenance of sinus rhythm. The CIEDs in our study included insertable cardiac monitor (ICM), permanent pacemaker (PPM) and cardiac resynchronization therapy-defibrillator (CRT-D). The aim was to compare efficacy of commonly used AADs for maintenance of sinus rhythm in atrial fibrillation (AF) patients.

Methods: We conducted our retrospective study in a real world practice setting. We analyzed electronic medical records of 145 consecutive patients with paroxysmal and persistent AF who were treated with AADs for maintenance of sinus rhythm between the period of April 2014 and February 2018.

Results: Total 34 out of 145 patients (23.45%) had AF recurrence. The mean duration of first AF recurrence in total patient cohort was 18.01 ± 12 months. There was no major difference in efficacy in terms of prevention of first episode of AF recurrence among commonly used class III and class IC AADs.

Conclusions: Higher doses clearly seem to be more effective in preventing the recurrence of AF in class III AADs; sotalol and amiodarone. Use of CIEDs helps to continuously monitor patients for recurrence of AF and detects proarrhythmic effects of AADs.

Keywords: Antiarrhythmic drugs; Atrial fibrillation; Cardiovascular implantable electronic devices.