[The late results of electrical cardioversion in patients with a chronic form of atrial fibrillation].

The paper presents results of study of the electric cardioversion (ECV) long-term effects in 216 patients with a chronic form of cardiac fibrillation (CF). The CF relapses were found to occur in 45.4% of cases, with the 43.9% of the whole number of the above relapses falling on the first two weeks, during six months after successful ECV. CF relapses were significantly more common in patients with rheumatic and ischemic heart diseases, as well as in those persons with CF duration of more than one year and in recurrent arrhythmias in instances of left ventricle sizes exceeding 45 mm. CF form does not appear to have a demonstrable effect on the ECV long-term results.