Fig. 1

Changes in electrophysiological characteristics. a Representative surface ECG recordings during RAP (a), after RAP (b) and after atrial burst pacing (c) (paper speed 50 mm/s). a. ECG recordings in limb leads during RAP at 600 beats/min. b. ECG recordings in limb leads showed that the rabbit was still in normal sinus rhythm after 3 weeks of RAP when the pacemaker was deactivated. c. ECG recordings in limb leads showed that after atrial burst pacing, the rabbit was induced AF: disappearance of P-wave, and absolute irregularity of the RR interval. b AF inducibility in the sham, control and atorvastatin groups. c Comparison of AERP₁₅₀ among the 3 groups, each bar represents the means ± standard deviation. ECG: electrocardiogram; RAP: rapid atrial pacing; AF: atrial fibrillation; AERP₁₅₀: atrial effective refractory period at a basic cycle length of 150 ms. *P < 0.05 vs. sham group; ^#P < 0.05 vs. control group