title: Does atrial fibrillation detected by cardiac implantable electronic devices have clinical relevance?
abstract: The precise role atrial fibrillation (AF) plays in increasing the risk of stroke is less well understood; this is especially true for the implanted device population. Current cardiac implanted electronic devices have a very high sensitivity and specificity for true AF detection. It does not seem to matter if the AF episode is proximal to the stroke event, and risk seems to be increased by relatively brief AF episodes. The appearance of new atrial high-rate episodes increases thromboembolic event rates. Until larger trials or registries are conducted, it is important to follow established guidelines regarding anticoagulation.
authors.affiliation: Hackensack University Medical Center, Hackensack, NJ 07601, USA. Electronic address: TayaVG@aol.com.
authors.forename: Taya V
authors.initials: TV
authors.lastname: Glotzer
authors.affiliation: Medtronic Cardiac Rhythm Disease Management Division, Medtronic Inc, 8200 Coral Sea St. NE, Mounds View, MN 55112, USA.
authors.forename: Paul D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Ziegler
mesh_terms: D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000401:mortality; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D017147:Defibrillators, Implantable; D005544:Forecasting; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D018570:Risk Assessment; D020521:Stroke / Q000401:mortality / Q000517:prevention & control; D013923:Thromboembolism / Q000401:mortality / Q000517:prevention & control
keywords: Atrial fibrillation; Continuous monitoring; Implantable device; Stroke