Predictors in Recurrence of Cardioversion of Atrial Fibrillation With Nonvalvular Disease.

The aim of this study is to analysis the relationship of clinical variables to the recurrence of atiral fibrillation after cardioversion to optimize the indication for rhythm control. Retrospective study analysed medical records of the atrial fibrillation patients who have undergone cardioversion from 2000 to 2002. The univariate and multivariate associations of immediate efficacy of cardioversion and long-term results with clinical variables were analyzed. Results: 386 patients who had undergone pharmacological cardioversion or electrical cardioversion were enrolled. Almost half of the patients relapsed within 1 week after successful cardioversion. At the end of one year follow-up, 135 patients (35%) recovered from atrial fibrillation. There were no significant difference between the recurrence group and unrecurrence group in age, heart disease and the methodology of cardioversion. The predictors for the recurrence of atrial fibrillation were diameter of the left atrium ≥50mm(OR=1.86, 95%CI 1.02-3.69, P=0.0472),pre-cardioversion duration ≥7 days (OR=2.08, 95%CI 1.19-3.65, P= 0.01) and the duration of atrial fibrillation (OR=1.77, 95%CI 1.01-3.06, P= 0.0456). Conclusions:The enlargement of left atrium and long duration of atrial fibrillation before cardioversion show less successful rate and more recurrence in the future