Quantitative assessment of cibenzoline administration for vagally mediated paroxysmal atrial fibrillation using frequency-domain heart rate variability analysis.

Background: Cibenzoline (CBZ), a class I antiarrhythmic drug, has been widely used to maintain sinus rhythm in patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (P-AF). This agent has an anticholinergic action and will become the drug of first choice for vagally mediated P-AF. We assessed its efficacy quantitatively by analyzing the frequency-domain heart rate variability (FD-HRV) of the Holter electrocardiogram (ECG) in patients with vagal P-AF.

Heart rate turbulence as a predictor of cardiac mortality and arrhythmic events in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy: a prospective study.

Background: Few studies have described the clinical usefulness of heart rate turbulence (HRT), an autonomic predictor of mortality, in stratifying patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) at risk of cardiac mortality and arrhythmic events. We prospectively assessed the utility of HRT for risk stratification in patients with ischemic or nonischemic DCM.

Methods: We enrolled 375 consecutive patients with DCM including ischemic (n = 241) and nonischemic causes (n = 134).

Time-domain T-wave alternans measured from Holter electrocardiograms predicts cardiac mortality in patients with left ventricular dysfunction: a prospective study.

Background: Time-domain T-wave alternans (TWA) is useful for identifying patients at risk for serious events after myocardial infarction.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to prospectively evaluate the utility of time-domain TWA measured from Holter ECGs in predicting cardiac mortality in patients with left ventricular (LV) dysfunction.

Methods: Two hundred ninety-five consecutive patients with LV dysfunction were enrolled in the study.