What consensus in the diagnosis and management of atrial fibrillation?
Strongly involved in research on atrial fibrillation, Professor Stéphane HATEM (Director General of the ICAN IHU and Director of the UMR 1166) participated in the 8th AFNET/EHRA Consensus Conference the Atrial Fibrillation NETwork (AFNET) and the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA), where 83 international experts brought together their expertise to support improved AF risk management through prevention, individualized care and research strategies.
Discover below the main results of this consensus!
Atrial fibrillation
Despite major progress in its management, the Atrial Fibrillation (AF) remains associated with significant morbidity and mortality. A major public health issue, it is the 1st cardiac cause of vascular embolic accidents (CVA) and decompensation of heart disease, and is a factor of cognitive decline and epidemic character with the aging of the population.
To combat this scourge, it is necessary to identify patients at risk of AF, those with paroxysmal and clinically silent episodes of AF before the onset of a stroke, and to invent new personalized upstream therapeutic treatments.
Management of atrial fibrillation: what advances?
To improve risk assessment of atrial fibrillation (AF) and to guide treatment of the arrhythmia, further scientific and clinical translational research is needed to better understand the various underlying mechanisms reflected by the electrocardiographic (ECG) pattern of AF.
Prof. Stéphane HATEM, Director of the IHU ICAN
Published on July 27, 2022 in EP Europace, the scientific publication “Early diagnosis and better rhythm management to improve outcomes in patients with atrial fibrillation : the 8th AFNET/EHRA consensus conference” presents the the main results of these interdisciplinary discussions, based on recently published or unpublished scientific observations.
Further improvements for the patient are possible with continued efforts to identify and target atrial cardiomyopathy and associated cognitive impairment, which can be facilitated by Artificial Intelligence (AI).
The main results are as follows:
- Every effort should be made to control the heart rhythm through the individualized use of various drug or interventional anti-arrhythmic therapies, combined with aggressive management of cardiovascular and metabolic risk factors,
- Better characterization of the atrial cardiomyopathy underlying AF is a challenge to improve identification of patients at risk and to implement prevention,
- Standardized assessment of cognitive function in patients with AF is necessary to improve the quality of life of patients,
- Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to achieve all of the above, but requires advanced interdisciplinary knowledge and collaboration as well as a better forensic framework,
- New, simple and applicable means of AF detection for the general population.
The IHU ICAN participates in research against atrial fibrillation
MAESTRIA, a highly innovative project to better detect atrial cardiomyopathy
The IHU ICAN participes in MAESTRIA (Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence for Early Detection of Stroke and Atrial Fibrillation), an ultra-innovative project to better detect atrial cardiomyopathy, which is a major cause of atrial fibrillation and embolic strokes.
The MAESTRIA project is a consortium of 18 partners from Europe, the United States and Canada and responds to an H2020 call for proposals on digital diagnostics. This project is promoted by Sorbonne-University and coordinated by Professor Stéphane HATEM, Director of the IHU ICAN.
The CT-AF study, imaging as a decision aid in atrial ablation?
The CT-AF study, coordinated by Prof. Estelle GANDJBAKHCH and Dr. Mikaël LAREDO (Institute of Cardiology, Rhythmology Unit of the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital in Paris) should make it possible to define the criterion vessels to select the patients who could benefit the most from the ablation of Atrial Fibrillation (AF) tissue.
“Indeed, predictive factors for success of atrial ablation remain insufficient, whereas they are necessary for the selection of patients who could benefit the most from this invasive procedure.” Pr Estelle GANDJBAKHCH
