Cited by 188Atrial Fibrillation Management and OutcomesCardiac pacing and defibrillation studiesCardiac Arrhythmias and Treatments

Clinical Classifications of Atrial Fibrillation Poorly Reflect Its Temporal Persistence

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Charitos, Efstratios I., Pürerfellner, Helmut, Glotzer, Taya V., Ziegler, Paul D.·2014·Journal of the American College of Cardiology

Abstract

Objectives This study aimed to identify how accurately the current clinical atrial fibrillation (AF) classifications reflect its temporal persistence.Background Clinical classification of AF is employed to communicate its persistence, to select appropriate therapies, and as inclusion criterion for clinical trials.Methods Cardiac rhythm histories of 1,195 patients (age 73.0 ± 10.1 years, follow-up: 349 ± 40 days) with implantable devices were reconstructed and analyzed. Patients were classified as having paroxysmal or persistent AF by physicians at baseline in accordance with current guidelines. AF burden, measured as the proportion of time spent in AF, was obtained from the device. Additionally we evaluated the agreement between clinical and device-derived AF classifications.Results Patients within the same clinical class were highly heterogeneous with regards to AF temporal persistence. Agreement between the clinical AF classification and the objective device-derived assessments of AF temporal persistence was poor (Cohen's kappa: 0.12 [95% CI: 0.05 to 0.18]). Patient characteristics influenced the clinical decision to classify AF as paroxysmal or persistent. Higher ejection fraction (odds ratio: 0.97/per unit [95% CI: 0.95 to 0.98/per unit]; p < 0.0001) and presence of coronary artery disease (odds ratio: 0.53 [95% CI: 0.32 to 0.88]; p = 0.01) were independently associated with a lower probability of being classified as persistent AF for the same AF burden level.Conclusions The currently used clinical AF classifications poorly reflect AF temporal persistence. Patient characteristics significantly influence the physician's classification of AF. Patients classified in identical clinical categories may be inherently heterogeneous with regard to AF temporal persistence. Further study is required to determine if patient selection on the basis of objective criteria derived from rigorous AF monitoring can improve reported outcomes and better identify responders and non-responders to treatments. (OMNI Study-Assessing Therapies in Medtronic Pacemaker, Defibrillator, and Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy Devices; NCT00277524; TRENDS: A Prospective Study of the Clinical Significance of Atrial Arrhythmias Detected by Implanted Device Diagnostics; NCT00279981).

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  1. [18]18. Charitos EI, Ziegler PD, Stierle U, Sievers H-H, Paarmann H, Hanke T. Atrial fibrillation density: A novel measure of atrial fibril- lation temporal aggregation for the characterization of atrial fibrillation recurrence pattern. Appl Cardiopulm Pathophys 2013;17:3-10.

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Authors
Charitos, E. I., Pürerfellner, H., Glotzer, T. V., & Ziegler, P. D.
Affiliations
  • University of Lübeck (DE)
  • Krankenhaus der Elisabethinen (AT)
  • Hackensack University Medical Center (US)
  • Medtronic (United States) (US)
Corresponding author
Charitos, Efstratios I.
Venue
Journal of the American College of Cardiology
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2014-07
Volume
63
Issue
25
Pages
2840-2848
ISSN
0735-1097 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W191924134
Cited by
188
References
35
Citations by year
2026: 10 · 2025: 16 · 2024: 23 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 20 · 2020: 15 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 17 · 2017: 18 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 15 · 2014: 7
FWCI
12.12
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of the American College of Cardiology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Atrial Fibrillation Management and Outcomes
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Cardiac pacing and defibrillation studies
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Cardiac Arrhythmias and Treatments
Keywords
atrial fibrillation, temporal persistence, clinical classification, paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, persistent atrial fibrillation, atrial fibrillation burden, cardiac implantable electronic devices, ejection fraction, coronary artery disease, patient selection
MeSH terms
Aged, Atrial Fibrillation, Equipment Design, Female, Heart Rate, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Monitoring, Physiologic, Prospective Studies, Treatment Outcome, Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy Devices

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