Influence of body mass index on recurrence of atrial fibrillation after electrical cardioversion

• Published in: PloS one 2023-09, Vol.18 (9), p.e0291938-e0291938
• Main Authors: Ligero, Carmen, Bazan, Victor, Guerra, José M, Rodríguez-Mañero, Moisés, Viñolas, Xavier, Alegret, Josep M
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Ablation; Analysis; Atrial fibrillation; Biology and Life Sciences; Body mass; Body mass index; Body size; Body weight; Cardiac arrhythmia; Cardiovascular disease; Cardioversion; Clinical medicine; Decision-making; Diagnosis; Diseases; Drugs; Electric countershock; Endocrine system; Fibrillation; Health aspects; Heart; Hypertension; Medicine and Health Sciences; Metabolism; Multivariate analysis; Obesity; Overweight; Regression analysis; Relapse; Rhythm; Risk factors; Thoracic surgery; Variables
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0291938

Several studies have shown an independent relationship between body mass index (BMI) and the incidence of atrial fibrillation (AF). However, little is known about the influence of BMI on AF recurrence after electrical cardioversion (ECV). We selected 1121 patients who reverted to sinus rhythm after scheduled ECV and were included in three prospective Spanish registries of ECV in persistent AF. The patients were classified according to baseline BMI into three categories (normal weight, overweight, obesity). We assessed the influence of BMI on the rate of AF recurrence at 3 months. We identified 538 patients (48%) who had AF recurrence in the first 3 months after successful ECV. The patients who suffered AF recurrence had a higher BMI than those who remained in sinus rhythm (29.66±4.57 vs. 28.87±4.64 Kg/m2, respectively; p = 0.004). We observed a higher incidence of AF recurrence in the overweight and obese patients (BMI [greater than or equal to]25 kg/m.sup.2) than in those classified as normal weight (50.5% vs. 35.6%, respectively; p