Moreover all the anti-arrhythmic agents that are used in treatment of AF were potentially pro-arrhythmic especially in patients with coronary artery disease and structurally abnormal heart .
Although atrial fibrillation ( AF ) is the most common sustained arrhythmia seen during daily cardiovascular physician practice , its management remained a challenge for cardiology physician as there was no single anti-arrhythmic agents proved to be effective in converting atrial fibrillation and kept its effectiveness in maintaining sinus rhythm over long term .
Some of these drugs also have serious non cardiac side effects that limit its long term use in the management of atrial fibrillation .
Several new and investigational anti-arrhythmic agents are emerging but data supporting their effectiveness and safety are still limited .
Development and Validation of the Atrial Fibrillation Effect on QualiTy-of-Life (AFEQT) Questionnaire in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation
Background —Atrial fibrillation ( AF ) has a deleterious impact on health-related quality -of-life ( HRQoL ) , but measuring this outcome is difficult . A comprehensive , vali date d , disease-specific question naire to measure the spectrum of QoL domains affected by AF and its treatment is not available . We developed and vali date d a 20-item question naire , Atrial Fibrillation Effect on QualiTy -of-life ( AFEQT ) , in a 6-center , prospect i ve , observational study . Methods and Results —Factor analyses established 4 conceptual domains ( Symptoms , Daily Activities , Treatment Concern , and Treatment Satisfaction ) from which individual domain and global scores were calculated . Participants from 6 centers completed the AFEQT at baseline , at month 1 , and at month 3 . Psychometric analyses included internal consistency and known-group validity . Test-retest reliability was assessed by comparing 1-month changes in scores among those with no change in therapy . Effect size was used to assess responsiveness after intervention . Among 219 patients age 62±11.9 years , 94 % completed the AFEQT at baseline and 3 months ; 66 % had paroxysmal , 24 % persistent , 5 % longst and ing persistent , and 5 % permanent AF .  Internal consistency was > 0.88 for all scales . Lower AFEQT scores were observed with increased AF severity , categorized as asymptomatic , mild , moderate and severe , respectively : 71.2±20.6 , 71.3±19.2 , 57.9±19.0 , and 42.0±21.2 . Intraclass correlations for Overall , Symptoms , Daily Activities , Treatment Concern , and Satisfaction scores were 0.8 , 0.5 , 0.8 , 0.7 , and 0.7 , respectively . Changes in 3-month scores were larger after ablation than with pharmacological adjustments , and both were greater than those observed in stable patients . Conclusions —This initial validation of AFEQT supports its use as an outcome in studies and a means to clinical ly follow patients with AF
Moreover all the anti-arrhythmic agents that are used in treatment of AF were potentially pro-arrhythmic especially in patients with coronary artery disease and structurally abnormal heart .
Although atrial fibrillation ( AF ) is the most common sustained arrhythmia seen during daily cardiovascular physician practice , its management remained a challenge for cardiology physician as there was no single anti-arrhythmic agents proved to be effective in converting atrial fibrillation and kept its effectiveness in maintaining sinus rhythm over long term .
Some of these drugs also have serious non cardiac side effects that limit its long term use in the management of atrial fibrillation .
Several new and investigational anti-arrhythmic agents are emerging but data supporting their effectiveness and safety are still limited .