Although most patients following PVI remain AF-free, some patients develop "late" recurrence of AF. The "late" recurrence patients are more likely to have hypertension and hyperlipidemia. Most late recurrences are associated with PV reconnections. Our observations emphasize the importance of continued long-term vigilance for AF recurrence, and also raise concerns regarding the need for long-term anticoagulation therapy.

Even after controlling for appropriateness and necessity for coronary artery bypass graft surgery in a prospective study, African-American patients had significant access problems in obtaining coronary artery bypass graft surgery. These problems appeared not to be related to patient refusals.

Although very useful agents, fluoroquinolones are associated with a number of adverse events, some with considerable clinical significance. Prolongation of the QT interval, for example, is an adverse effect associated with the use of fluoroquinolones. Fluoroquinolones prolong the QT interval by blocking voltage-gated potassium channels, especially the rapid component of the delayed rectifier potassium current I_Kr, expressed by HERG (the human ether-a-go-go-related gene). According to the available case reports and clinical studies, moxifloxacin carries the greatest risk of QT prolongation from all available quinolones in clinical practice and it should be used with caution in patients with predisposing factors for Torsades de pointes (TdP). Although gemifloxacin, levofloxacin, and ofloxacin are associated with a lower risk of QT prolongation compared with moxifloxacin, they should also be used with caution in patients at risk for QT prolongation. Ciprofloxacin appears to be associated with the lowest risk for QT prolongation and the lowest TdP rate. The overall risk of TdP is small with the use of fluoroquinolones. Clinicians can minimize that risk by avoiding prescriptions of multiple medications associated with QT-interval prolongation, especially in high-risk patients.