Clinical determinants of early spontaneous conversion to sinus rhythm in patients with atrial fibrillation.

BACKGROUND: The current standard of care for acute atrial fibrillation (AF) focuses primarily on immediate restoration of sinus rhythm by cardioversion, although AF often terminates spontaneously. OBJECTIVE: To identify determinants of early spontaneous conversion (SCV) in patients presenting at the emergency department (ED) because of AF. METHODS: An observational study was performed of patients who visited the ED with documented AF between July 2014 and December 2016. The clinical characteristics and demographics of patients with and without SCV were compared. RESULTS: We enrolled 943 patients (age 69 ± 12 years, 47% female). SCV occurred within 3 h of presentation in 158 patients (16.8%). Logistic regression analysis showed that duration of AF <24 h [odds ratio (OR) 7.7, 95% confidence interval (CI) 3.5-17.2, p < 0.001], left atrial volume index <42 ml/m2 (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.2-2.8, p = 0.010), symptoms of near-collapse at presentation (OR 2.4, 95% CI 1.2-5.1, p = 0.018), a lower body mass index (BMI) (OR 0.9, 95% CI 0.91-0.99, p = 0.028), a longer QTc time during AF (OR 1.01, 95% CI 1.0-1.02, p = 0.002) and first-detected AF (OR 2.5, 95% CI 1.6-3.9, p < 0.001) were independent determinants of early SCV. CONCLUSION: Early spontaneous conversion of acute AF occurs in almost one-sixth of admitted patients during a short initial observation in the ED. Spontaneous conversion is most likely to occur in patients with first-onset, short-duration AF episodes, lower BMI, and normal left atrial size.

Severe mitral regurgitation caused by eosinophilic endocarditis.

We describe a patient with symptoms of heart failure caused by severe mitral regurgitation. Echocardiography revealed an intracardiac mass embedding the posterior mitral valve leaflet, and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging showed two intracardiac thrombi and endomyocardial fibrosis. Eosinophil count kept rising and a mutation in the gene for platelet-derived growth factor receptor alpha was found. The combination of these findings led to the diagnosis of Loeffler's endocarditis. Treatment with prednisone and a tyrosine kinase inhibitor resulted in complete remission of the hypereosinophilia and mitral valve regurgitation was only mild at 9-month follow-up visit. .