Long-term Outcomes of Left Anterior Fascicular Block in the Absence of Overt Cardiovascular Disease

Mandyam MC, Soliman EZ, Heckbert SR, et al. — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT

To the Editor: Left anterior fascicular block (LAFB) is considered a benign electrocardiographic (ECG) finding, but its long-term consequences have not been comprehensively studied. Conduction blocks occur due to conduction system fibrosis and are associated with myocardial fibrosis, even in the absence of other cardiovascular disease. Therefore, LAFB may be an immediately accessible marker of left heart fibrosis, a substrate for atrial fibrillation (AF) and congestive heart failure (CHF). We investigated the long-term outcomes of participants with LAFB in the absence of manifest cardiovascular disease in the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS).

JAMA: Atrial Fibrillation/Flutter Topic Collection

Long-term Outcomes of Left Anterior Fascicular Block in the Absence of Overt Cardiovascular Disease