title: [Mid-term clinical and prognostic evaluation of idiopathic atrial fibrillation].
abstract: Forty-six patients with idiopathic or lone atrial fibrillation (AF) underwent clinical evaluation in the cardiology outpatient department. The follow-up period was 4.6 +/- 2.5 years. The prevalence of idiopathic AF was 19% (89% paroxysmal and 11% permanent) in a population of 244 patients with atrial fibrillation. The global prevalence was 1.15% out of 4,000 patients examined over the same period. A history of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation over a 6 +/- 4 year period was obtained in 61% of the patients with idiopathic AF before the study. At inclusion, 24% of patients were asymptomatic. During follow-up, 12 patients (26%) developed cardiovascular disease and/or hypertension. The size of the left atrium was measured by echocardiography in 45 patients and reevaluated in 30 of them during follow-up without any statistically significant difference being observed between the two values. There were no thromboembolic complications or deaths during follow-up. These results show that idiopathic AF is not uncommon in cardiology clinics. The evolution of the paroxysmal forms is variable--but the medium-term prognosis is excellent. In some cases, idiopathic AF may be a manifestation of asymptomatic coronary artery disease but the relationship between the two pathologies has not been definitely established.
authors.affiliation: Service de cardiologie, hôpital de la Tour, Meyrin-Genève, Suisse.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ciaroni
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bloch
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D016279:Atrial Function, Left; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000209:etiology; D004452:Echocardiography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000209:etiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011379:Prognosis; D013927:Thrombosis / Q000209:etiology
vernacular_title: Evaluation clinique et pronostique à moyen terme de la fibrillation auriculaire idiopathique.