A study on the methodology and safety of CS ventricular pacing substituting thetraditional right ventricular pacing

Objectives: Aim of this study was to describe the use of antithrombotic therapy in Chinese patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and identify factors associated with warfarin use at baseline and at 12-month follow-up. Methods: Between November 2008 and October 2011, this prospective registry enrolled patients presenting to an emergency department (ED) with AF at 20 sites in China; 12-month follow-up was completed for all patients. Multivariate regression models were used to determine predictors of warfarin use, respectively. Results: Among 319 patients with valvular AF, 132 at baseline and 111 at follow-up were on warfarin, while 43 (32.6%) and 64 (57.7%) have international normalized ratio (INR) levels between 2.0 to 3.0, respectively. In patients with non-valvular AF warfarin was most used in patients with CHADS2 scores1⁄41, and proportion of patients met the target INR levels increased as rising of the CHADS2 score. Use of aspirin also increased with risk score rising. Over half of low-risk patients received antithrombotic drugs (60.2% and 55.3%, respectively). History of stroke/transient ischemic attack (TIA) and prior diagnosis of AF were predictors for warfarin use at baseline, as well as at follow-up, while there was a decreased likelihood of warfarin use as increasing age, increasing heart rate (HR), and history of coronary artery disease (CAD). Conclusions: In China, antithrombotic therapy were overused in AF patients at low risk of stroke and underused in high-risk patients. History of stroke/TIA, prior diagnosis of AF, age, heart rate, and history of CAD were related with warfarin use.