Abstract
Atrial fibrillation is the commonest sustained arrhythmia, increasing in frequency with patient age and occurring in approximately 5% of individuals over the age of 65 (Peterson and Godtfredsen 1984; Kerr and Chung 1985). The arrhythmia may impart increased risk of peripheral em-bolization and has been shown in population studies to be associated with increased mortality (Wolf et al. 1978; Gajewski and Singer 1981). However, the major challenge to the physician remains the control of symptoms resulting from atrial fibrillation: disabling palpitations, decreased exercise tolerance, and exacerbation of congestive heart failure or underlying coronary artery disease. Prevention of atrial fibrillation with quinidine and slowing of the ventricular response during atrial fibrillation with digoxin have been the mainstays of treatment since the 1920s (Lewis 1925), and remain the commonest forms of therapy. However, recent pharmacological and non-pharmacological developments are leading to gradual changes in these conventional approaches.
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© 1992 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Kerr, C.R., Yeung-Lai-Wah, J.A., Leather, R.A. (1992). Trends in Management of Atrial Fibrillation. In: Campbell, R.W.F., Janse, M.J. (eds) Cardiac Arrhythmias: The Management of Atrial Fibrillation. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-30492-1_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-30492-1_7
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
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