ArticleBMC cardiovascular disorders2026
Left atrial strain compared to volume in long-term flecainide treated patients with atrial fibrillation - a retrospective cohort study.
Article in BMC cardiovascular disorders, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundLeft atrial volume index (LAVI) is associated with recurrent atrial fibrillation (AF) during flecainide treatment. Nevertheless, AF patients with normal LAVI experience rhythm control failure. Our study sought to compare the association between left atrial strain and LAVI with rhythm control failure, in flecainide treated patients with AF.
methodsThis retrospective cohort study included consecutive patients ≥ 18 years of age with AF who were discharged after in-hospital initiation of flecainide. Patients without an echocardiogram in sinus rhythm within one year of initiation of flecainide were excluded. The primary endpoint was discontinuations due to rhythm control failure. Receiver operating characteristics determined optimal cutoffs for reservoir (LASr), conduit (LAScd) and contractile (LASct) left atrial longitudinal strains for the primary endpoint. These cutoffs were analysed using Cox regression, with 95% confidence intervals.
resultsSeventy patients were followed for a mean of 1.71 ± 1.56 years (mean age 59.4 ± 11.5 years; 66% male; 8.6% had persistent AF). The area under the curve for LASr was 0.764 (0.595–0.933), for LAScd 0.784 (0.634–0.934), and for LAVI 0.497 (0.345–0.795). Optimal cutoffs for LASr were < 23% and LAScd < 14.5%. These cutoffs had similar specificity (LASr 85% and LAScd 73%) but higher sensitivity (70% and 90%, respectively) compared to ≥moderately increased LAVI (84% and 36%) for the primary endpoint. Hazard ratios for LASr < 23% and LAScd < 14.5% were 9.09 (2.34–35.3) and 18.3 (2.31–145), respectively.
conclusionsImpaired left atrial strain was associated, independently from LAVI, with discontinuations due to rhythm control failure in patients receiving long-term flecainide treatment for AF.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.