Attaining sinus rhythm mediates improved outcomes with early rhythm control therapy of atrial fibrillation
A mediator analysis of the EAST – AFNET 4 trial dataset revealed the key factor for the effectiveness of early rhythm control (ERC) in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF): The presence of sinus rhythm at 12 months after randomization explains 81% of the outcome-reducing effect of ERC. Other factors, e. g. blood pressure or recurrent AF, only explain small portions of the effect. The results were presented by Professor Lars Eckardt, University Hospital Münster, Germany, at the annual congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) in Barcelona, Spain, on 29.08.2022 [1], [2].