title: Variables correlated with early relapses after external electrical cardioversion of persistent atrial fibrillation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The aim of this study was to identify the clinical and echocardiographic variables possibly correlated with the early relapses of atrial fibrillation (AF) after external electrical cardioversion (EC) in a large cohort of patients with persistent AF.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two hundred patients (117 males, 83 females, mean age 67.9 +/- 8.7 years) with successful EC of persistent AF (> 72 hours) were included in the present study. In order to identify the predictors of early relapses (within 7 days) of AF, 16 clinical and echocardiographic variables were compared at univariate analysis. The variables with a p value < 0.10 at univariate analysis were subsequently analyzed at multivariate analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seventy-five patients (37.5%) had relapses of AF within 7 days of EC. By univariate analysis only a younger age (65.9 +/- 8.9 vs 69.0 +/- 8.3 years, p = 0.01) was found to be significantly correlated with a higher incidence of early relapses of AF. At multivariate analysis no variable was found to be significantly correlated with early relapses of AF.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In patients with persistent AF, recurrences of this arrhythmia within 7 days of EC occur frequently (37.5%). Multivariate analysis did not reveal any clinical or echocardiographic variable significantly correlated with the early recurrence of AF.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Civic Hospital, Mirano, VE, Italy. ulss13mirano.elettrofisiologia@wind.it.net
authors.forename: Emanuele
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bertaglia
authors.forename: Franco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zoppo
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Pellizzari
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zerbo
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Michieletto
authors.forename: Daniele
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: D'Este
authors.forename: Pietro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pascotto
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000628:therapy*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D004554:Electric Countershock / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012008:Recurrence; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014463:Ultrasonography