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Atrial fibrillation, a common arrhythmia disorder with a prevalence rate
of 2% in the general population may sometimes neither be prevented nor sinus rhythm restored using
conventional pharmacological therapy. Following experiments conducted in the 1980’s, an alternative electrical
therapy, internal cardioversion of AF, has been developed, based on the assumption that the restoration of AF is
possible with low energy levels. Internal defibrillation is a technique of proven efficacy both for acute and
chronic use, which can even be used in cases where external cardioversion has failed. Critical factors related to
the efficacy of this method are the type of waveform, the electrode placement and the duration of the arrhythmia.
Further improvement in threshold determinants could make the use of atrial defibrillators more effective and
more tolerable to the patient.
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