BACKGROUND The optimal level of heart rate (HR) control in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) is unknown. To assess the effect of rate control on cardiopulmonary exercise capacity and quality of life (QoL) in permanent AF. METHODS One hundred forty-three patients with permanent AF were enrolled in this study. All patients received rate control medications and were followed up for 1 year. After 1-year therapy, the exercise capacity and QoL were evaluated by cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) and 36-item Short-Form Health Survey, respectively. Data were compared by dividing the patients according to the following criteria: (1) whether the resting HR was ≤80 or > 80 bpm; (2) whether the exercise HR during moderate exercises on CPET was ≤110 or > 110 bpm; and (3) whether the resting HR was ≤80 bpm and exercise HR was ≤110 bpm. RESULTS No significant differences in peak oxygen uptake, peak metabolic equivalent, and anaerobic threshold were found between the strict control and lenient control groups. Both physical component summary (PCS) and mental component summary (MCS) were significantly higher for the strict rate control group than for the lenient control group. The single-factor correlation analysis revealed a negative correlation between resting HR and both PCS and MCS. The multivariable linear regression analysis indicated that both exercise HR and duration of AF linearly correlated with PCS and MCS. CONCLUSIONS Therefore, in patients with permanent AF, exercise capacity may not be affected by the stringency of rate control, and strict rate control may be associated with better QoL.

中文翻译：

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心率控制对永久性房颤患者运动能力和生活质量的影响


背景 房颤 (AF) 患者心率 (HR) 控制的最佳水平尚不清楚。评估心率控制对永久性 AF 心肺运动能力和生活质量 (QoL) 的影响。方法 143 名永久性 AF 患者参加了本研究。所有患者均接受心率控制药物治疗并随访 1 年。治疗1年后，分别通过心肺运动测试（CPET）和36项简短健康调查评估运动能力和生活质量。根据以下标准对患者进行分组来比较数据：（1）静息心率是否≤80或> 80 bpm； (2) CPET适度运动时的运动心率是否≤110或> 110 bpm； (3)静息心率是否≤80 bpm，运动心率是否≤110 bpm。结果严格对照组和宽松对照组的峰值摄氧量、峰值代谢当量和无氧阈值没有显着差异。严格速率控制组的身体成分总结（PCS）和精神成分总结（MCS）均显着高于宽松对照组。单因素相关分析显示静息心率与 PCS 和 MCS 呈负相关。多变量线性回归分析表明运动心率和AF持续时间与PCS和MCS线性相关。结论 因此，在永久性房颤患者中，运动能力可能不会受到严格心率控制的影响，严格的心率控制可能与更好的生活质量相关。