ATRIAL FIBRILLATION
Electrical Cardioversion = Resets the Heart. But does it work?
Atrial fibrillation (AF, or afib) is very common, and seems to be a growing epidemic. Diet, lifestyle, and simply living longer will result in close to 16 million people suffering from afib by 2050. Given the high risk of stroke, the main goal of correcting the rhythm is to decrease the likelihood a clot will form during the time a patient experiences an abnormal heartrate. In addition to pharmacologically treating atrial fibrillation with the use of blood thinners, rate control, and rhythm control drugs — the next most common “therapy” is electrical cardioversion.
But, how often does it work? And, if it doesn’t work — why?
After reviewing some of the literature*, it is apparent success is determined by a host of factors. For example, if a patient is on antiarrhythmic drugs prior to cardioversion, there is a higher likelihood of success. However, the risks associated with such drugs should be taken into consideration to determine if they actually offset the benefit of a successful cardioversion. In other words, these drugs can be dangerous, and it is unknown if they are more dangerous than being in afib. In addition, the use of these drugs does not actually reduce a relapse into afib (if cardioversion does work) which further begs the question if more definitive therapies should be explored once afib is…