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Clinical Summary

Alcohol abstinence reduces Afib recurrence risk in regular drinkers

Takeaway

  • In regular alcohol drinkers with atrial fibrillation (Afib), abstinence from alcohol significantly reduced the burden and risk for Afib recurrence.

Why this matters

  • Excessive alcohol consumption is associated with incident Afib and adverse atrial remodelling, however, limited prospective data are available on the role of reduction in alcohol consumption in Afib outcomes.

Study design

  • 140 patients with Afib were randomly assigned (1:1) to either abstinence group (n=70) or control group (n=70).
  • Primary outcomes: recurrence of Afib (any atrial tachyarrhythmia lasting 30 seconds or longer) and burden of Afib (proportion of time in Afib) during 6 months of follow-up.
  • Funding: The Government of Victoria Operational Infrastructure Support Program and others.

Key results

  • In the abstinence group, alcohol intake reduced from 16.8±7.7 to 2.1±3.7 drinks per week (87.5% reduction; mean difference, 14.7; 95% CI, 12.7-16.7)
  • After a 2-week blanking period, Afib recurrence rates were lower in the abstinence than the control group (53% vs 73%).
  • Abstinence group had a longer time to Afib recurrence compared with the control group (HR, 0.55; 95% CI, 0.36-0.84; P=.005).
  • Over 6 months of follow-up, Afib burden was significantly lower in the abstinence group than control group (median percentage of time in Afib, 0.5% [interquartile range, 0.0-3.0%] vs 1.2% [interquartile range, 0.0-10.3%]; P=.01).

Limitations

  • Study included mixed participants with different mechanisms of arrhythmia detection.

References


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