Device-detected A Fib: NOAH-AFNET 6 & ARTESIA - Prof. Jeff Healey, Prof. Paulus Kirchhof

After publication of the two landmark studies NOAH-AFNET 6 and ARTESIA, their principal investigators - Prof. Jeff Healey and Prof. Paulus Kirchhof - discuss whether or not to anticoagulate patients with device-detected atrial fibrillation.
Paulus Kirchhof is Director of the Department of Cardiology at the University Heart and Vascular Center UKE Hamburg, Germany, and holds a part-time position as Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine in the Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences at the University of Birmingham, UK. In Birmingham, he co-founded the Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, of which he is past director. Professor Kirchhof chairs the Board of AFNET and sits on the Board of the European Society of Cardiology. Jeff Healey serves as the director of arrhythmia services and holds the position of associate professor of medicine at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Dr. Healey was the lead author of the seminal ASSERT trial, which demonstrated the increased stroke risk associated with sub-clinical atrial fibrillation detected by pacemakers. Currently, Dr. Healey is leading two major ongoing studies: the SIMPLE trial, a 2500-patient randomized trial evaluating the value of performing intra-operative defibrillation threshold testing at the time of ICD insertion, and the RELY AF Registry, a 15,000-patient worldwide registry examining the causes, treatment, and outcomes in patients with atrial fibrillation.
The interview was recorded on December 20th, 2023.
Moderators: Prof. Dr. Axel Bauer (Innsbruck, Austria), Prof. Dr. Dr. Stephan Schirmer (Kaiserslautern, Germany), Prof. Dr. Florian Custodis (Saarbrücken, Germany), Prof. Dr. Gunnar Heine (Frankfurt, Germany).
Articles discussed:
Subclinical atrial fibrillation and the risk of stroke.
Healey JS, Connolly SJ, Gold MR, Israel CW, Van Gelder IC, Capucci A, Lau CP, Fain E, Yang S, Bailleul C, Morillo CA, Carlson M, Themeles E, Kaufman ES, Hohnloser SH; ASSERT Investigators.
N Engl J Med 2012
doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1105575
Early Rhythm-Control Therapy in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation.
Kirchhof P, Camm AJ, Goette A, Brandes A, Eckardt L, Elvan A, Fetsch T, van Gelder IC, Haase D, Haegeli LM, Hamann F, Heidbüchel H, Hindricks G, Kautzner J, Kuck KH, Mont L, Ng GA, Rekosz J, Schoen N, Schotten U, Suling A, Taggeselle J, Themistoclakis S, Vettorazzi E, Vardas P, Wegscheider K, Willems S, Crijns HJGM, Breithardt G; EAST-AFNET 4 Trial Investigators.
N Engl J Med 2020
doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2019422
Apixaban for Stroke Prevention in Subclinical Atrial Fibrillation.
Healey JS, Lopes RD, Granger CB, Alings M, Rivard L, McIntyre WF, Atar D, Birnie DH, Boriani G, Camm AJ, Conen D, Erath JW, Gold MR, Hohnloser SH, Ip J, Kautzner J, Kutyifa V, Linde C, Mabo P, Mairesse G, Benezet Mazuecos J, Cosedis Nielsen J, Philippon F, Proietti M, Sticherling C, Wong JA, Wright DJ, Zarraga IG, Coutts SB, Kaplan A, Pombo M, Ayala-Paredes F, Xu L, Simek K, Nevills S, Mian R, Connolly SJ; ARTESIA Investigators.
N Engl J Med 2023
doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2310234
Rivaroxaban with or without Aspirin in Stable Cardiovascular Disease.
Eikelboom JW, Connolly SJ, Bosch J, Dagenais GR, Hart RG, Shestakovska O, Diaz R, Alings M, Lonn EM, Anand SS, Widimsky P, Hori M, Avezum A, Piegas LS, Branch KRH, Probstfield J, Bhatt DL, Zhu J, Liang Y, Maggioni AP, Lopez-Jaramillo P, O'Donnell M, Kakkar AK, Fox KAA, Parkhomenko AN, Ertl G, Störk S, Keltai M, Ryden L, Pogosova N, Dans AL, Lanas F, Commerford PJ, Torp-Pedersen C, Guzik TJ, Verhamme PB, Vinereanu D, Kim JH, Tonkin AM, Lewis BS, Felix C, Yusoff K, Steg PG, Metsarinne KP, Cook Bruns N, Misselwitz F, Chen E, Leong D, Yusuf S; COMPASS Investigators.
N Engl J Med. 2017
doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1709118
Anticoagulation with Edoxaban in Patients with Atrial High-Rate Episodes.
Kirchhof P, Toennis T, Goette A, Camm AJ, Diener HC, Becher N, Bertaglia E, Blomstrom Lundqvist C, Borlich M, Brandes A, Cabanelas N, Calvert M, Chlouverakis G, Dan GA, de Groot JR, Dichtl W, Kravchuk B, Lubiński A, Marijon E, Merkely B, Mont L, Ozga AK, Rajappan K, Sarkozy A, Scherr D, Sznajder R, Velchev V, Wichterle D, Sehner S, Simantirakis E, Lip GYH, Vardas P, Schotten U, Zapf A; NOAH-AFNET 6 Investigators.
N Engl J Med 2023
doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2303062