Decrease of the atrial fibrillatory rate, increased organization of the atrial rhythm and termination of atrial fibrillation by AZD7009

Abstract:
Background: The atrial fibrillatory rate (APR), on AZD7009 as compared to placebo, was investigated as a potential biomarker for electrophysiological effect in early antiarrhythmic drug development. Methods: Patients with permanent AF received infusions of AZD7009 and placebo in an exploratory two-way, single-blind, randomized cross-over study. The ECG was continuously recorded, and following QRST cancellation the APR, its standard deviation (SD), the exponential decay and the atrial electrogram amplitude were determined as 3-min averages. Results: The mean APR rapidly decreased by 43% from baseline (394 +/- 38 to 225 +/- 61 fibrillations/min, p = 0.0003) on AZD7009, but not on placebo. The SD of the AFR and the exponential decay decreased in parallel. In 2 of 8 patients, termination of AF occurred after the APR had decreased by 58% and 53%, respectively. Conclusions: The APR may potentially serve as a biomarker of electrophysiological effects in early evaluation of rhythm control agents. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.