Biomarkers and atrial fibrillation A new paradigm for assessing the progression of left atrial endocardial remodelling英文文献资料.docVIP

Open Journal of Clinical Diagnostics, 2012, 2, 18-22 OJCD /10.4236/ojcd.2012.22004 Published Online June 2012 (http://www.SciRP.org/journal/ojcd/) Biomarkers and atrial fibrillation: A new paradigm for assessing the progression of left atrial endocardial remodelling Philippe Chevalier , Alina Scridon 1 2 1 2 Hospices Civils de Lyon, H?pital Louis Pradel, Service de Rythmologie, Lyon, France University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Targu Mures, Targu Mures, Romania Email: philippe.chevalier@chu-lyon.fr, alinascridon@ Received 29 December 2011; revised 13 February 2012; accepted 25 February 2012 ABSTRACT sistent and permanent atrial fibrillation represent three different stages of the same pathophysiological process or whether they represent three distinct disorders. Mark- ers that predict the clinical progression of atrial fibrilla- tion and its complications are yet to be defined. Atrial fibrillation is a heterogeneous disorder that is usually characterized by paroxysmal onset, particu- larly in patients without structural heart disease. De- fining biological markers of atrial remodelling would help identify patients at high risk who would benefit most from prophylactic treatment and careful moni- toring. Biomarkers of atrial fibrillation progression would be helpful for following patients that present with asymptomatic atrial fibrillation. Notably, the roles of such markers in the pathophysiology of atrial fibrillation must be determined. Some markers may indicate the presence, complications or progression of the disease, while others may be involved in key pathological processes and thus represent novel therapeutic targets. Although a number of markers have been reported as potential predictors of parox- ysmal atrial fibrillation progression towards persis- tent arrhythmia, their usefulness and clinical value need further validation