Scientific Publications

Read in and find out

View background literature as well as new publications by the AF-B-STEP consortium. Once new publications are available, we list them here. All IHI-funded publications are required to be Open Access, meaning the references on this page are linked directly to the full text publication.

Total number of AF-B-STEP publications:
2
2026
Publications:
2
  • Published: June 2026

    AF-B-STEP: a global collaboration to reduce the burden of atrial fibrillation and advance its quantification and treatment

    Obergassel J, de Melis M, and Kirchhof P (2026), European Heart Journal: ehag304 (online ahead of print)

    Currently, atrial fibrillation (AF) is still largely treated as a binary diagnosis, overlooking the wide range of episode patterns and intensities. More precise, quantitative measures of AF burden are therefore needed to better understand disease progression, assess risk and enable more personalised treatment and management.

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  • Published: March 2026

    Pre-procedural time spent in atrial fibrillation using intermittent ECG monitoring is associated with arrhythmia recurrence after ablation: the ISOLATION cohort study

    Habibi Z et al. (2026), Europace, 28 (3): euag044
    Atrial fibrillation (AF) burden may provide a more precise picture of treatment response than conventional AF classification. In this study, the percentage of time patients spent in AF before ablation independently predicted arrhythmia recurrence. Notably, patients classified as having paroxysmal AF but with a high AF burden had recurrence rates similar to those with persistent AF, highlighting the potential of quantitative AF burden measures to improve risk assessment and personalise treatment.
    Further reading

Background Literature

  • Becher N et al. (2024). Atrial fibrillation burden: a new outcome predictor and therapeutic target. European Heart Journal, 45: pp. 2824–2838.

    Further reading

  • Doehner W et al. (2025). Atrial fibrillation burden in clinical practice, research, and technology development: a clinical consensus statement of the European Society of Cardiology Council on Stroke and the European Heart Rhythm Association. Europace, 27.

    Further reading

  • Healey JS et al. (2024). Apixaban for stroke prevention in subclinical atrial fibrillation. New England Journal of Medicine, 390: pp. 107–117.

    Further reading

  • Kirchhof P et al. (2023). Anticoagulation with Edoxaban in Patients with Atrial High-Rate Episodes. New England Journal of Medicine, 389: pp. 1167–1179.

    Further reading

  • Kirchhof P et al. (2020). Early rhythm-control therapy in patients with atrial fibrillation. New England Journal of Medicine, 383 (14): pp. 1305–1316.

    Further reading

  • Kirchhof P, Parwani AS, and Schenker N (2025). Does atrial fibrillation ablation prevent cardiovascular death, stroke, and heart failure events? Heart Rhythm, 22: pp. 2224–2226.

    Further reading

  • Marrouche NF et al. and CASTLE-AF Investigators (2018). Catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation with heart failure. New England Journal of Medicine, 378 (5): pp. 417–427.

    Further reading

  • Perez MV et al. (2019). Large-scale assessment of a smartwatch to identify atrial fibrillation. New England Journal of Medicine, 381 (20): pp. 1909–1917.

    Further reading

  • Sanna T et al. and CRYSTAL AF Investigators (2014). Cryptogenic stroke and underlying atrial fibrillation. New England Journal of Medicine, 370 (26): pp. 2478–2486.

    Further reading

  • Schnabel RB et al. (2015). 50 year trends in atrial fibrillation prevalence, incidence, risk factors, and mortality in the Framingham Heart Study: A cohort study. The Lancet, 386 (9989): pp. 154–162.

    Further reading

  • Svennberg E et al. (2025). Transforming atrial fibrillation management by targeting comorbidities and reducing atrial fibrillation burden: the 10th AFNET/EHRA consensus conference. Europace, 27.

    Further reading

  • Svendsen JH et al. (2021). Implantable loop recorder detection of atrial fibrillation to prevent stroke (The LOOP Study): A randomised controlled trial. The Lancet, 398 (10310): pp. 1507–1516.

    Further reading

  • Zeemering S et al. (2025). Estimated atrial fibrillation burden on early rhythm-control and cardiovascular events in the EAST-AFNET 4 trial. eClinicalMedicine, 88: 103457.

    Further reading

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