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Updated: Jul 19, 2026

Optimization of Transesophageal Atrial Pacing to Assess Atrial Fibrillation Susceptibility in Mice
Published on: June 29, 2022
Suppression of atrial fibrillation by atrial pacing
Noriko Inoue1, Toshiyuki Ishikawa, Shinichi Sumita
1Department of Medical Science and Cardiorenal Medicine Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, Yokohama 236-0004, Japan. norikok@yokohama-cu.ac.jp
Background:
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common arrhythmia in patients with an implanted pacemaker, but the role of atrial pacing in preventing AF is still unclear.
Methods And Results:
Sixty-six patients (67.8+/-12.1 years) were enrolled: 54 with sick sinus syndrome (SSS), 11 with atrioventricular blocks (AVB), and 1 with SSS and AVB. The prevalence of AF was investigated. In 22 patients with AF, the AF burden was estimated under "back-up pacing" (40-50 beats/min), then under "atrial pacing" (60-85 beats/min). The prevalence of AF in the SSS group tended to be higher than that in the AVB group (48.1% vs 18.2%, p=0.06). The AF burden in patients with a percentage of atrial pacing (% atrial pacing) <50% was significantly greater than that in patients with % atrial pacing >or=50% (12.5+/-21.1% vs 4.2+/-10.3%, p<0.05). AF disappeared immediately after "atrial pacing" in 4 patients (18.2%). In 9 patients (40.9%), the AF burden decreased gradually, and AF disappeared in 6 patients (27.3%) after 207.9+/-130.2 days.
Conclusion:
The prevalence of AF may be higher in patients with SSS than in those with AVB. Atrial pacing has a preventive effect on AF, and the effect of atrial pacing is not always immediate but is progressive in some patients.
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