Evidence map›Paper›PMID 24763467›Full record

ReviewCirculation research2014

Role of the autonomic nervous system in atrial fibrillation: pathophysiology and therapy.

Peng-Sheng Chen, Lan S Chen, Michael C Fishbein, Shien-Fong Lin, Stanley Nattel

2 registry-linked trialsOpen access · bronzeAbstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Circulation research, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 451 papers, 9 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
451citing papers in PubMed, 9 pooled it
28.8field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT03593486 nacompletednot on this mapstarted 2018, after this paper: background citation

Effect of Low-Level Electromagnetic Field Stimulation on Patients With Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation

TypeinterventionalSponsorUniversity of OklahomaRan2018 to 2019Enrolled18ConditionsAtrial Fibrillation, Catheter Ablation, Autonomic ImbalanceArmsLow-level Pulsed EMF, Sham Stimulation
NCT04514757 nacompletednot on this mapstarted 2021, after this paper: background citation

Transcutaneous (Tragus) Vagal Nerve Stimulation (tVNS) for Post-op Atrial Fibrillation (POAF)

TypeinterventionalSponsorUniversity of California, Los AngelesRan2021 to 2024Enrolled77ConditionsAtrial FibrillationArmsactive tVNS, sham tVNS
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

451 citing papers in PubMed, 9 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 750 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Prophylactic cardiac denervation to prevent post-operative atrial fibrillation after coronary artery bypass grafting: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of interventional cardiac electrophysiology : an international journal of arrhythmias and pacing · 2025
    Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Guideline
  5. Guideline
  6. Dietary interventions in the management of atrial fibrillation.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2024
    Pooled it
  7. Pooled it
  8. Pooled it
  9. Pooled it
  10. Trial
  11. Trial
  12. Trial
  13. Article
  14. Review
  15. Article
  16. De-risking Atrial Fibrillation: Refining Anticoagulation Decision-Making.American journal of cardiovascular drugs : drugs, devices, and other interventions · 2026
    Review
  17. Article
  18. Sleep, Neural Circulatory Control, and Cardiovascular Disease: A Mechanistic Review.Arteriosclerosis, thrombosis, and vascular biology · 2026
    Review
  19. Atrial electrophysiology in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: current insights and knowledge gaps.Journal of interventional cardiac electrophysiology : an international journal of arrhythmias and pacing · 2026
    Review
  20. Article

391 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Peng-Sheng ChenFrom the Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, The Krannert Institute of Cardiology (P.-S.C., S.-F.L.) and Department of Neurology (L.S.C.), Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis; Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles (M.C.F.); Institute of Biomedical Engineering, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan (S.-F.L.); and Department of Medicine, Montreal Heart Institute and Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada (S.N.).
Lan S Chen
Michael C Fishbein
Shien-Fong Lin
Stanley Nattel
University of California, Los Angeles · USNational Yang Ming Chiao Tung University · TW

Funding

WAVE DYNAMICS IN NORMAL AND DISEASED RABBIT HEARTSP01HL078931 · NHLBI · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI CHEN, PENG-SHENG · 2005 to 2015
$20.7M
Thoracic Veins and Sustained Atrial FibrillationR01HL071140 · NHLBI · INDIANA UNIV-PURDUE UNIV AT INDIANAPOLIS · PI CHEN, PENG-SHENG · 2002 to 2014
$4.7M
Interactive Vagal Stimulation and Atrial FibrillationR21HL106554 · NHLBI · INDIANA UNIVERSITY INDIANAPOLIS · PI LIN, SHIEN-FONG · 2011 to 2012
$424k
NHLBI NIH HHS P01 HL078931NHLBI NIH HHS P01HL78931NHLBI NIH HHS R01 HL071140NHLBI NIH HHS R01HL71140NHLBI NIH HHS R21 HL106554NHLBI NIH HHS R21HL106554
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Autonomic nervous system activation can induce significant and heterogeneous changes of atrial electrophysiology and induce atrial tachyarrhythmias, including atrial tachycardia and atrial fibrillation (AF). The importance of the autonomic nervous system in atrial arrhythmogenesis is also supported by circadian variation in the incidence of symptomatic AF in humans. Methods that reduce autonomic innervation or outflow have been shown to reduce the incidence of spontaneous or induced atrial arrhythmias, suggesting that neuromodulation may be helpful in controlling AF. In this review, we focus on the relationship between the autonomic nervous system and the pathophysiology of AF and the potential benefit and limitations of neuromodulation in the management of this arrhythmia. We conclude that autonomic nerve activity plays an important role in the initiation and maintenance of AF, and modulating autonomic nerve function may contribute to AF control. Potential therapeutic applications include ganglionated plexus ablation, renal sympathetic denervation, cervical vagal nerve stimulation, baroreflex stimulation, cutaneous stimulation, novel drug approaches, and biological therapies. Although the role of the autonomic nervous system has long been recognized, new science and new technologies promise exciting prospects for the future.

Indexed as

Autonomic DenervationCatheter AblationAction PotentialsAnimalsAnti-Arrhythmia AgentsAtrial FibrillationAtrial FunctionAutonomic Nervous SystemHeart AtriaHumansRisk FactorsTreatment OutcomeAnti-Arrhythmia Agentsheart failuremyocardial infarction

Identifiers

PMID24763467
PMCPMC4043633
OpenAlexW2160508162

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.