Promotion of Atrial Fibrillation by Heart Failure in Dogs

Abstract

Background —Studies of atrial fibrillation (AF) due to atrial tachycardia have provided insights into the remodeling mechanisms by which “AF begets AF” but have not elucidated the substrate that initially supports AF before remodeling occurs. We studied the effects of congestive heart failure (CHF), an entity strongly associated with clinical AF, on atrial electrophysiology in the dog and compared the results with those in dogs subjected to rapid atrial pacing (RAP; 400 bpm) with a controlled ventricular rate (AV block plus ventricular pacemaker at 80 bpm). Methods and Results —CHF induced by 5 weeks of rapid ventricular pacing (220 to 240 bpm) increased the duration of AF induced by burst pacing (from 8±4 seconds in control dogs to 535±82 seconds; P P Conclusions —Experimental CHF strongly promotes the induction of sustained AF by causing interstitial fibrosis that interferes with local conduction. The substrates of AF in CHF are very different from those of atrial tachycardia–related AF, with important potential implications for understanding, treating, and preventing AF related to CHF.