Drug effect evaluation during permanent atrial fibrillation using an AV-node model

The purpose of the present study is to evaluate the effect of rate control drugs on the AV node characteristics during atrial fibrillation (AF) using a model-based approach. A statistical model of the AV nodal function is employed, defined by parameters which characterize the arrival rate of atrial impulses, the refractoriness of the fast and the slow AV-nodal pathway and the probability of atrial impulse to pass through either of the two pathways. The RATAF (RATe control in Atrial Fibrillation) study database consists of recordings from 60 patients with permanent AF at baseline and on treatment with metoprolol, verapamil, diltiazem and carvedilol, respectively. The resulting model parameter estimates indicate that the refractory period of the slow pathway as well as that of the fast pathway increased significantly during treatment with all four drugs. The results suggest that the proposed AV-node model can be used for non-invasive evaluation of the effect of rate control drugs.