A Comparative Study of USA and Europe Guidelines of Rate and Rhythm Control Pharmacotherapy in Atrial Fibrillation

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Atrial fibrillation (AF) guidelines have been published in the USA and Europe. Recently, the USA and Europe have updated their guidelines, respectively. These new AF guidelines help in addressing key management issues in clinical situations. This study, therefore, systematically compared guidelines for rate and rhythm control pharmacotherapy of patients with AF between the USA (American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association, ACC/AHA) and Europe (European Society of Cardiology, ESC). METHODS: This study investigated and compared American guidelines (2014) and European guidelines (2010 and 2012). RESULTS: Generally, there are four meaningful differences between ACC/AHA and ESC guidelines. Important differences are treatment classification system, level of recommendation, drug list, and dosage. In addition, ACC/AHA described pharmacokinetic drug interactions for antiarrhythmic drugs. ESC emphasized ECG and atrioventricular nodal slowing as feature of antiarrhythmic drugs. CONCLUSION: This research addresses important use of anti-arrhythmic drugs and movement to accept recent recommendations in Korea. For the successful application of the guidelines, a role of pharmacists is crucial in clinical situation.