Background: Many recipients of implantable cardiac electronic devices have atrial fibrillation (AF) occurrences after device implantation, even if there is no previous history of AF, and some of the episodes are asymptomatic. The purpose of this study was to evaluate trends in AF burden following early AF detection in patients treated with pacemakers equipped with automatic, daily Home Monitoring function.
Methods: Between February 2009 and December 2010, the registry recruited 701 pacemaker patients (628 dual-chamber, 73 biventricular devices) at 97 clinical centers in China. Daily Home Monitoring data transmissions were analyzed to screen for the AF burden. In-office follow-ups were scheduled for 3 and 6 months after implantation. Upon first AF (i.e., mode-switch) detection in a patient, screening of AF burden by Home Monitoring was extended for the next 180 days.
Results: At least one episode of AF was observed in 22.9% of patients with dual-chamber pacemakers and in 28.8% of patients with biventricular pacemakers. The first AF detection in a patient occurred, on average, about 2 months before scheduled follow-up visits. In both pacemaker groups, mean AF burden decreased significantly (P < 0.05) over 180 days following first AF detection: from 12.0% to 2.5% in dual-chamber and from 12.2% to 0.5% in biventricular pacemaker recipients. The number of patients with an AF burden >10% per month was significantly reduced over 6 months of implantation in both dual chamber (38 patients in the first month vs. 21 patients in month 6, P < 0.05) and biventricular (7 patients in the first month vs. 0 patient in months 4-6, P < 0.05) pacemaker recipients.
Conclusions: Automatic, daily Home Monitoring of patients treated with cardiac pacemakers allows early detection of AF, and there is a gradual and significant decrease in AF burden.