Potassium Infusion for Conversion of Atrial Fibrillation/-Flutter
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2017-11-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Atrial fibrillation is a condition in which the heart's upper chambers, the atria, contract
at an abnormally rapid rate. It is a common type of arrhythmia, and occurs in 1-2% of the
general population. The prevalence of atrial fibrillation increases with age. Between 50 and
70% of patients with atrial fibrillation lasting <48 hours spontaneously convert to normal
sinus rhythm, and drug therapy increases the likelihood of conversion to sinus rhythm.
Another treatment option for conversion of atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter is
electrical conversion. This is an effective treatment but requires anesthesia.
Current treatment strategy for medical conversion of atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter
is to employ drugs that affect ion channel activity in atrial cardiomyocytes. However, such
converting drugs all have potentially serious side effects and are expensive. Potassium,
sodium, calcium, and magnesium molecules are the most important ions causing electric current
in the heart tissue. Our hypothesis is that hypokalemia promotes atrial fibrillation/atrial
flutter by a direct effect on cardiomyocytes. Accordingly, we also hypothesize that potassium
infusion may convert atrial fibrillation/atrial flutter to normal sinus rhythm. If so, this
would be an inexpensive treatment with potentially very few side effects.