The present analysis suggests that only patients with a left atrium diameter≤45 mm and lone atrial fibrillation might derive benefits from the anterior-posterior electrode position compared with the anterior-lateral electrode position during external electrical cardioversion for atrial fibrillation. However, there was insufficient evidence to support any advantages for the anterior-posterior electrode position in other situations.

Previous studies have suggested that galectin-3 is an important mediator of cardiac fibrosis. The aim of this study was to investigate the utility of galectin-3 in identifying early left ventricular remodeling (LVRM) in patients with hypertension. A total of 107 patients with hypertension and 108 controls were enrolled in this study. The levels of galectin-3 were significantly greater in hypertension patients with LVRM compared with those without LVRM. Multivariate regression analysis demonstrated that body mass index and galectin-3 were independent predictors of LVRM in the hypertension group. Only left ventricular mass was independently correlated with serum galectin-3 levels in patients with hypertension. The receiver operating characteristic analysis showed an area under the curve for galectin-3 of 0.698 (P<.001), with an optimal cutoff of 9.43 ng/mL. Therefore, galectin-3 is independently correlated with LVRM and can be regarded as a valuable biomarker of early cardiac remodeling of hypertension.

fQRS is a common electrocardiographic phenomenon in patients with hypertension. Although the diagnostic value for LVH is limited, the presence of fQRS on ECG is associated with a higher risk for worse LVH.

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