Optoelectronic control of cardiac rhythm: Toward shock-free ambulatory cardioversion of atrial fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most prevalent cardiac arrhythmia, progressive in nature, and known to have a negative impact on mortality, morbidity, and quality of life. Patients requiring acute termination of AF to restore sinus rhythm are subjected to electrical cardioversion, which requires sedation and therefore hospitalization due to...

High Dominant Frequencies and Fractionated Potentials Do Not Indicate Focal or Rotational Activation During AF

Background: Dominant frequencies (DFs) or complex fractionated atrial electrograms (CFAEs), indicative of focal sources or rotational activation, are used to identify target sites for atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation in clinical studies, although the relationship among DF, CFAE, and activation patterns remains unclear. Objectives: This study...

Light transmittance in human atrial tissue and transthoracic illumination in rats support translatability of optogenetic cardioversion of atrial fibrillation

Background: Optogenetics could offer a solution to the current lack of an ambulatory method for the rapid automated cardioversion of atrial fibrillation (AF), but key translational aspects remain to be studied. Objective: To investigate whether optogenetic cardioversion of AF is effective in the aged heart and whether sufficient light...

Impact of Obesity on Atrial Electrophysiological Substrate

(1) Background. Obesity is a well-established worldwide recognised risk factor for atrial fibrillation (AF). Prior review papers reported on the associations between obesity and AF development, but not on the relation between obesity and atrial electrophysiology. We therefore conducted a systematic review to describe the current knowledge of...

Estimation of Cardiac Fibre Direction Based on Activation Maps

Estimating tissue conductivity parameters from electrograms (EGMs) could be an important tool for diagnosing and treating heart rhythm disorders such as atrial fibrillation (AF). One of these parameters is the fibre direction, often assumed to be known in conductivity estimation methods. In this paper, a novel method to estimate the fibre...

Adherence to a Multidisciplinary Lifestyle Program for Patients With Atrial Fibrillation and Obesity: Feasibility Study

Background: Atrial fibrillation is commonly associated with obesity. Observational studies have shown that weight loss is associated with improved prognosis and a decrease in atrial fibrillation frequency and severity. However, despite these benefits, nonadherence to lifestyle programs is common. Objective: In this study, we evaluated adherence...

Atrial fibrillation fingerprinting

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common age-related cardiac arrhythmia. AF is characterized by rapid and irregular electrical activity of the heart leading to a higher risk of stroke and heart failure. During AF, the upper chambers of the heart, called atria, experience chaotic electrical wave propagation. However, despite the various mechanisms...