D. Restoration of sinus rhythm for monophasic vs. biphasic waveforms .
Another study showed that PVI result ed in long-term restoration
Atrial fibrillation ( AF ) is a major public health problem in the United States .
More than 2.3 million Americans are estimated to have AF ( 1 ) .
The known association between AF and substantial mortality , morbidity , and health care costs compounds the effect of this condition .
Not only is the risk for death in patients with AF twice that of patients without it , but AF can result in myocardial ischemia and infa rct ion , exacerbate heart failure ( HF ) , and cause tachycardia-induced cardiomyopathy if the ventricular rate is not well-controlled ( 25 ) .
The most dreaded complication of AF is thromboembolism , especially stroke ( 6 ) .
In some patients , AF or therapies to manage this condition can severely depreciate quality of life ( 710 ) .
Furthermore , the management of AF and its complications is responsible for nearly $ 16 billion in additional costs to the U.S. health care system per year ( 11 ) .
We conducted this systematic review to evaluate the comparative safety and effectiveness of rate- versus rhythm-control strategies ;  medications used for ventricular rate control ; strict versus more lenient rate-control strategies ; nonpharmacologic rate-control therapies  versus medications ; electrical cardioversion and antiarrhythmic medications  for restoration of sinus rhythm ;  and  catheter ablation , surgical ablation , and antiarrhythmic medications  for maintenance of sinus rhythm .
Maintenance of sinus rhythm after electrical cardioversion of persistent atrial fibrillation; sotalol vs bisoprolol.
AIMS The purpose of the study was to compare the efficacy and safety of sotalol and bisoprolol in the maintenance of sinus rhythm after electrical cardioversion of atrial fibrillation . METHODS Patients ( n=128 ) were r and omized to sotalol ( 80 mg b.i.d . ) or bisoprolol ( 5 mg x day(-1 ) ) . Patients with contraindications to beta-blockers , class III antiarrhythmic drugs or prior treatment with use of study medication for prevention of atrial fibrillation were excluded . Follow-up clinical evaluation was performed 1 day and 1 month after cardioversion and thereafter at 3-month intervals . RESULTS There were no group differences in baseline clinical characteristics . After a follow-up of 12 months , 59 % of all patients were still in sinus rhythm . The fraction remaining in sinus rhythm was calculated for the two groups by Kaplan -- Meier analysis . During follow-up , 41 % of patients on sotalol and 42 % on bisoprolol developed atrial fibrillation ( ns ) . In two patients ( 3.1 % ) on sotalol , life-threatening proarrhythmias ( torsade de pointes tachycardias ) occurred , whereas none were found in the bisoprolol group . Symptomatic bradycardias occurred in two patients on sotalol and three on bisoprolol . CONCLUSION This study demonstrates that sotalol ( 160 mg x day(-1 ) ) and bisoprolol ( 5 mg x day(-1 ) ) are equally effective in maintaining sinus rhythm . Because of the side effects of sotalol , bisoprolol seems to be advantageous for maintenance of sinus rhythm after cardioversion of atrial fibrillation
D. Restoration of sinus rhythm for monophasic vs. biphasic waveforms .
Another study showed that PVI result ed in long-term restoration
Atrial fibrillation ( AF ) is a major public health problem in the United States .
More than 2.3 million Americans are estimated to have AF ( 1 ) .
The known association between AF and substantial mortality , morbidity , and health care costs compounds the effect of this condition .
Not only is the risk for death in patients with AF twice that of patients without it , but AF can result in myocardial ischemia and infa rct ion , exacerbate heart failure ( HF ) , and cause tachycardia-induced cardiomyopathy if the ventricular rate is not well-controlled ( 25 ) .
The most dreaded complication of AF is thromboembolism , especially stroke ( 6 ) .
In some patients , AF or therapies to manage this condition can severely depreciate quality of life ( 710 ) .
Furthermore , the management of AF and its complications is responsible for nearly $ 16 billion in additional costs to the U.S. health care system per year ( 11 ) .
We conducted this systematic review to evaluate the comparative safety and effectiveness of rate- versus rhythm-control strategies ;  medications used for ventricular rate control ; strict versus more lenient rate-control strategies ; nonpharmacologic rate-control therapies  versus medications ; electrical cardioversion and antiarrhythmic medications  for restoration of sinus rhythm ;  and  catheter ablation , surgical ablation , and antiarrhythmic medications  for maintenance of sinus rhythm .