Prevalence of atrial fibrillation in patients with brugada syndrome in Taiwan

Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients with Brugada syndrome (BrS) and their clinical characteristics in Taiwan. Methods: The patient group consisted of 47 symptomatic BrS patients consecutively enrolled from 2000 to 2010. The definition of BrS patients with AF was a BrS patient with at least one episode of AF in a 12-lead electrogram or 24-hour holter (permanent, persistent or paroxysmal) during follow-up, or before diagnosis of BrS. Results: Six BrS patientswere identified with AF, and all of themweremale. Two experienced sudden cardiac death (SCD), 2 presented with seizure and 4 with syncope. The mean age at onset of BrS was 47 16 years, similar to those BrS patients without AF (45 14, p = 0.67). Compared to those BrS patients without AF, significantly higher percentages of the BrS patients with AF presented with seizure and documented ventricular tachyarrhythmia (p = 0.02 and 0.03, respectively). Five of them had spontaneous Brugada type I electrogram, similar to those BrS patients without AF (p = 0.9). The SCN5A mutation rate is similar between BrS patients with AF and those without AF (p = 0.69). The prevalence of AF in BrS patients in Taiwan was 12.7% (6/47, 95% confidence interval 0.06-0.19) which is not significantly lower than the 20% prevalence found in the Caucasian population (p = 0.16). Conclusions: BrS patients with AF had distinct clinical features from those patients without AF in Taiwan.