Author/Authors :
Koracevic, Goran University Clinical Center - Medical Faculty - Department of Cardiovascular Diseases, Serbia , Atanaskovic, Vesna University Clinical Center - Medical Faculty - Department of Cardiovascular Diseases, Serbia
Abstract :
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common chronic arrhyth-mia, with increasing prevalence. AF has been recognized by ECG for more than 100 years and has been studied mostly in the context of heart failure in 4,473, hypertension in 2,492, coronary artery disease in 1,393, acute myocardial infarction in 875, unstable angina in 152 and acute coronary syndrome in 142 citations in PubMed (February 2, 2008). It has been known since Brill in 1938 that AF was capable of inducing heart failure that can be completely resolved by heart rhythm normalization. Due to an increase in heart rate, which is usually present in AF, it may worsen ischemia in patients with acute coronary syndrome. Thus, it is not surprising that AF has (at least in the short term) prognostic significance in acute myocardial infarction and acute heart failure.
