Impact Of A Pharmacological Cardioversion With Vernakalant On The Management Cost Of Recent Atrial Fibrillation In Belgium

For further information, please contact: LGerlier@be.imshealth.com ©2014 IMS Health Incorporated and its affiliates. All rights reserved. Trademarks are registered in the United States and in various other countries Introduction and objectives o Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common type of cardiac arrhythmia. It is associated with a 5-fold risk of stroke, a 3-fold incidence of congestive heart failure, a 3-fold risk of ventricular fibrillation and higher mortality1,2. o Pharmacological cardioversion or direct current cardioversion (DCC) are done to restore a normal sinus rhythm. o There is evidence that a shorter time to cardioversion significantly reduces the risk of thromboembolic complications3. o Vernakalant is an antiarrhythmic drug indicated to rapidly convert recent onset AF to sinus rhythm in adults, or in case of post-cardiac surgery AF ≤ 3 days4.