Joseph T. Dell'Orfano, MD is with Arrhythmia Consultants of Hartford, Connecticut.

This review summarizes an important substudy of the Rate Control Versus Electrical Cardioversion (RACE) trial, which randomized 522 patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) to rate versus rhythm control treatment strategies and followed them for up to 2.3 years with a primary composite endpoint that included cardiovascular mortality, heart failure, thromboembolic complications, bleeding, severe adverse effects of anti-arrhythmic agents, and pacemaker implantation.