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Thromboembolic complications after electrical cardioversion in patients with atrial flutter

A Elhendy1, F Gentile, B K Khandheria

  • 1Division of Cardiovascular Diseases and Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN 55905, USA.

The American Journal of Medicine
|November 3, 2001
PubMed

Insights

Thromboembolic complications after atrial flutter cardioversion are rare (0.6%). Adequate anticoagulation appears to prevent embolic events in patients undergoing cardioversion for atrial flutter.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Vascular Medicine

Background:

  • Atrial flutter is a common arrhythmia requiring cardioversion.
  • Thromboembolic complications are a significant concern post-cardioversion.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the incidence of thromboembolic complications following electrical cardioversion in patients diagnosed with atrial flutter.
  • To assess the impact of anticoagulation on these complications.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective review of 615 elective electrical cardioversions in 493 patients with atrial flutter.
  • Evaluation of embolic complications within 30 days post-cardioversion.
  • Data collection via follow-up visits and physician contact.

Main Results:

  • Successful cardioversion in 93% of procedures.
  • A low incidence of thromboembolic events (0.6%) observed in 550 successful cardioversions with follow-up.
  • No embolic events occurred in patients with adequate anticoagulation; 2 of 3 events occurred in non-anticoagulated patients.

Conclusions:

  • Post-cardioversion thromboembolic complication rates in atrial flutter patients are low (0.6%).
  • Adequate anticoagulation is associated with the absence of embolic events.
  • These findings support current anticoagulation guidelines for atrial flutter cardioversion.
Abstract

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