Effect of flecainide on atrial fibrillatory rate in a large animal model with induced atrial fibrillation
(2017) In BMC Cardiovascular Disorders 17(1).- Abstract
Background: Atrial fibrillatory cycle length has been considered one of the indices of atrial electrical remodelling during atrial fibrillation (AF), which can be assessed from surface ECG by computer-assisted calculation of atrial fibrillatory rate (AFR). Horses have been suggested as a bona fide model for AF studies since horses too, develop lone AF, however data on AF characteristics in horses are extremely sparse and non-invasive characterization of AF complexity using surface ECG processing has not been reported. Aim: The aim was to study characteristics of induced AF and its modification by flecainide. Methods: The study group consisted on 3 horses with spontaneous persistent AF and 13 with pace-induced AF. Seven horses were... (More)
Background: Atrial fibrillatory cycle length has been considered one of the indices of atrial electrical remodelling during atrial fibrillation (AF), which can be assessed from surface ECG by computer-assisted calculation of atrial fibrillatory rate (AFR). Horses have been suggested as a bona fide model for AF studies since horses too, develop lone AF, however data on AF characteristics in horses are extremely sparse and non-invasive characterization of AF complexity using surface ECG processing has not been reported. Aim: The aim was to study characteristics of induced AF and its modification by flecainide. Methods: The study group consisted on 3 horses with spontaneous persistent AF and 13 with pace-induced AF. Seven horses were treated with saline (control) and eight with flecainide (2 mg/kg). ECGs were analysed using spatiotemporal cancellation of QRST complexes and calculation of AFR from the residual atrial signal. Results: At AF onset, AFR was 295±52 fibrillations per minute (fpm) in the horses with induced AF treated with flecainide, 269±36 fpm in the control group (ns), and 364±26 fpm in the horses with spontaneous persistent AF (P<0.05 compared to the control group). Flecainide caused a decrease in AFR in all animals and restored sinus rhythm in the animals with induced AF. In the control animals, AFR increased from 269±36 fpm to a plateau of 313±14 fpm before decreasing to 288±28 fpm during the last 10% of the AF episodes preceding spontaneous conversion (P<0.05). Conclusion: AFR in horses with induced AF resembles AFR in humans with paroxysmal AF. Flecainide caused a rapid decrease in AFR in all horses, further supporting the method to be a non-invasive technique to study the effect of antiarrhythmic compounds.
(Less)
- author
- Hesselkilde, Eva Z.
; Carstensen, Helena
; Haugaard, Maria M.
; Carlson, Jonas
LU
; Pehrson, Steen LU ; Jespersen, Thomas ; Buhl, Rikke and Platonov, Pyotr G. LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2017-12-08
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Animal model, Antiarrhythmic drug, Atrial electrophysiology, Atrial fibrillation, Atrial fibrillatory rate, Equine, Flecainide, Horse, Programmed electrical stimulation
- in
- BMC Cardiovascular Disorders
- volume
- 17
- issue
- 1
- article number
- 289
- publisher
- BioMed Central (BMC)
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85037329924
- wos:000417511700001
- pmid:29221440
- ISSN
- 1471-2261
- DOI
- 10.1186/s12872-017-0720-1
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 8381fe35-7b51-45cb-8399-1c6a1cfc9c47
- date added to LUP
- 2018-01-05 14:03:21
- date last changed
- 2025-01-08 02:05:56
@article{8381fe35-7b51-45cb-8399-1c6a1cfc9c47, abstract = {{<p>Background: Atrial fibrillatory cycle length has been considered one of the indices of atrial electrical remodelling during atrial fibrillation (AF), which can be assessed from surface ECG by computer-assisted calculation of atrial fibrillatory rate (AFR). Horses have been suggested as a bona fide model for AF studies since horses too, develop lone AF, however data on AF characteristics in horses are extremely sparse and non-invasive characterization of AF complexity using surface ECG processing has not been reported. Aim: The aim was to study characteristics of induced AF and its modification by flecainide. Methods: The study group consisted on 3 horses with spontaneous persistent AF and 13 with pace-induced AF. Seven horses were treated with saline (control) and eight with flecainide (2 mg/kg). ECGs were analysed using spatiotemporal cancellation of QRST complexes and calculation of AFR from the residual atrial signal. Results: At AF onset, AFR was 295±52 fibrillations per minute (fpm) in the horses with induced AF treated with flecainide, 269±36 fpm in the control group (ns), and 364±26 fpm in the horses with spontaneous persistent AF (P<0.05 compared to the control group). Flecainide caused a decrease in AFR in all animals and restored sinus rhythm in the animals with induced AF. In the control animals, AFR increased from 269±36 fpm to a plateau of 313±14 fpm before decreasing to 288±28 fpm during the last 10% of the AF episodes preceding spontaneous conversion (P<0.05). Conclusion: AFR in horses with induced AF resembles AFR in humans with paroxysmal AF. Flecainide caused a rapid decrease in AFR in all horses, further supporting the method to be a non-invasive technique to study the effect of antiarrhythmic compounds.</p>}}, author = {{Hesselkilde, Eva Z. and Carstensen, Helena and Haugaard, Maria M. and Carlson, Jonas and Pehrson, Steen and Jespersen, Thomas and Buhl, Rikke and Platonov, Pyotr G.}}, issn = {{1471-2261}}, keywords = {{Animal model; Antiarrhythmic drug; Atrial electrophysiology; Atrial fibrillation; Atrial fibrillatory rate; Equine; Flecainide; Horse; Programmed electrical stimulation}}, language = {{eng}}, month = {{12}}, number = {{1}}, publisher = {{BioMed Central (BMC)}}, series = {{BMC Cardiovascular Disorders}}, title = {{Effect of flecainide on atrial fibrillatory rate in a large animal model with induced atrial fibrillation}}, url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12872-017-0720-1}}, doi = {{10.1186/s12872-017-0720-1}}, volume = {{17}}, year = {{2017}}, }