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(Circulation. 2008;117:2567-2569.)
© 2008 American Heart Association, Inc.

Clinical Summaries

An extract of the first 250 words of the full text is provided, because this article has no abstract.

	Catheter Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation in Patients With Obesity

 
The present study reports the clinical outcomes of catheter-based ablation (Lasso-guided pulmonary vein isolation or 3-dimensional mapping-guided wide-area pulmonary vein isolation) for symptomatic atrial fibrillation, focusing on an obese patient population. The patients were grouped by body mass index (lean, <25 kg/m²; overweight, 25 to 29.9 kg/m²; obese, 30 kg/m²). The vast majority of patients who underwent catheter ablation therapy for symptomatic atrial fibrillation were obese (38%) or overweight (44%). The obese population with atrial fibrillation appears to be more symptomatic with lower Medical Outcomes Study 36-item Short-Form General Health Survey scores for quality of life than lean patients. At the 12-month follow-up, there was no significant difference in atrial fibrillation elimination rate (75%, 72%, and 70% in the lean, overweight, and obese patients, respectively) without the use of antiarrhythmic drugs. The present study conveys that most patients who underwent catheter ablation therapy for symptomatic AF were obese or overweight and provides an encouraging outcome of using catheter ablation in treating patients with obesity and atrial fibrillation. Although weight reduction, an appropriate exercise program, and treatment of hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus, and obstructive sleep apnea are of importance, curative pulmonary vein isolation is a reasonable option in the armamentarium of therapies for obese patients with symptomatic atrial fibrillation. See p 2583.

	Independent Prognostic Importance of a Restrictive Left Ventricular Filling Pattern After Myocardial Infarction: An Individual Patient Meta-Analysis: Meta-Analysis Research Group in Echocardiography Acute Myocardial Infarction

 
We try to predict the future of our patients with myocardial infarction to improve our understanding of the disease, intervene, and improve the prognosis for individual patients. Echocardiography provides an easily available, attractive tool to . . . [Full Text of this Article]