Abstract: AIM: To compare left atrial systolic functions determined by echocardiography in cardioversion of nonrheumatic atrial fibrillation with amiodarone or propafenone. METHODS: 15 healthy volunteers and 25 patients with nonrheumatic atrial fibrillation were examined with the transmitral flow (TMF) doppler patterns at atrial constriction and the pulmonary venous flow (PVF) patterns during atrial systole on d 1 and d 30 after cardioversion with amiodarone (amiodarone group, n =13) or propafenone (propafenone group, n =15). RESULTS: Compared with the healthy volunteers, the flow both TMF and PVF lowered at atrial constriction in all patients on d 1 after cardioversion (P <0.01), but there was not statistically significance between the amiodarone group and propafenone.There was a significant increase in the peak A-wave velocity, velocity-time integrals, the peak Z-wave velocity and velocity-time integrals during the four weeks in the all patients.Both TMF and PVF at atrial constriction also lowered in the two groups of patients respectively on d 30 in comparison with the volunteers.And the peak values of A-wave velocity, velocitytime integrals, the peak Z-wave velocity and velocity-time integrals decreased more obviously in propafenone group than in amiodarone group on d 30 (P <0.05). CONCLUSION: Amiodarone is better than propafenone in cardioversion of nonrheumatic atrial fibrillation according to left atrial systolic functions determined by echocardiography.

Key words: nonrheumatic atrial fibrillation, echocardiography;conversion, left atrial systolic function