Atrial Fibrillation
Atrial Fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained arrhythmia in adults, with approximately 44 million individuals estimated to have AF worldwide.
It is associated with thromboembolic risk, impairment in cardiac performance, and other morbidities. In addition to the patients with symptomatic AF, the diagnosis is often first detected after a stroke, the development of left ventricular dysfunction, or incidentally.
Complications include end-organ damage (stroke), AF progression, heart failure, collapse and iatrogenic bleeding related to anticoagulation.
The management of AF has evolved over time. Due to accumulating evidence of improved outcomes, previous management strategies that focused on simple ventricular rate control have evolved to present therapies that seek to restore and maintain sinus rhythm.
Long episodes of AF are associated with increased stroke risk and hospitalization; episodes > 24 hours triple the risk of stroke and increase hospitalization.
AF may be treated with anti-arrhythmic drugs (AAD), electrophysiological ablation, or some combination of the two.
There is a high unmet need for a safe and effective antiarrhythmic drug to reduce the frequency and duration of long harmful episodes to improve outcomes.