Atrial fibrillation etiology

Compare and contrast the risk factors for and the features, mechanisms, etiologies, symptoms, and goals of therapy of (1) sinus bradycardia (2) atrioventricular (AV) nodal blockade (3) atrial fibrillation (AF) (4) paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia (PSVT) ... 

Mackstaller LL, Alpert JS. Atrial fibrillation a review of mechanism, etiology, and therapy. Clin Cardiol 1997 20(7) 640-650. 

Patients in atrial fibrillation who have a TIA or stroke without other clear etiology should be given anticoagulation therapy if there are no contraindications (European Atrial Fibrillation Trial Study Group 1993, 1995). Recent studies have shown that warfarin is as safe as aspirin in elderly patients with atrial fibrillation (Rash et al. 2007 Mant et al. 2007). Patients with presumed cardioembolic TIA or stroke secondary to other causes should certainly receive antithrombotic therapy. Also they may benefit from anticoagulation in certain circumstances, such as intracardiac mural thrombosis after myocardial infarction, although there have been no randomized trials in situations other than non-valvular atrial fibrillation. 

The electrocardiogram (ECG) will determine whether the patient has atrial fibrillation, a potent etiologic factor for stroke. 

---