Infradian rhythm of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. A case report

To examine the circadian and infradian rhythms of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, the time and date of 85 arrhythmic attacks occurring over a period of 4 years were analyzed in a patient with reliable symptoms. In the hourly analysis, a remarkable circadian rhythm similar to the reported population circadian rhythm was observed. On a day basis, the distribution of the intervals between 2 successive episodes showed a significant departure from the exponential distribution, indicating the arrhythmia was not a simple probabilistic phenomenon. Spectrum analysis revealed a prominent peak occurring at about 0.3 cycles/day, suggesting a possible circasemiseptan rhythm. Thus, in this patient, paroxysmal atrial fibrillation was not a random event when observed not only from an hour incremental perspective but also from a day incremental perspective, suggesting the circadian and infradian rhythms of this arrhythmia.