Vernakalant-facilitated electrical cardioversion: comparison of intravenous vernakalant and amiodarone for drug-enhanced electrical cardioversion of atrial fibrillation after failed electrical cardioversion

AIMS: Electrical cardioversion is one cornerstone for the rhythm control strategy of atrial fibrillation (AF), which is, however, hampered by immediate AF recurrence (IRAF) or failed electrical cardioversion (FECV). We aimed to investigate the potential role of vernakalant for facilitated electrical cardioversion in cardioversion-resistant AF. METHODS AND RESULTS: The subjects of this study were 63 patients referred to the Heart Centre Leipzig between November 2011 and May 2014 for transthoracic electrical cardioversion of AF. All patients experienced after antiarrhythmic-naïve electrical cardioversion either IRAF (n = 44; 70%) or FECV (n = 19; 30%). After drug infusion, electrical cardioversion was successful in 66.7% of vernakalant-treated as opposed to 46.7% of amiodarone-treated patients (P = 0.109). Multivariate analysis revealed treatment with vernakalant (OR 0.057, 95% CI 0.006-0.540, P = 0.013), treatment with ACEI or ARB (OR 0.101, 95% CI 0.015-0.691 P = 0.019), and IRAF after initial CV (OR 0.047, 95% CI 0.004-0.498, P = 0.011) as predictors for successful, drug-facilitated electrical cardioversion. Subgroup analysis of 18 patients with previous AF ablation revealed a significantly higher success rate of electrical cardioversion after infusion of vernakalant than after infusion of amiodarone (66.7 vs. 11.1%, P = 0.016). CONCLUSION: Vernakalant may therefore be considered as a useful agent for facilitated electrical cardioversion in cardioversion-resistant AF.