Heart 2007;93:25-28
MINI-SYMPOSIUM
Identification, diagnosis and assessment of atrial fibrillation
1 Department of Medicine, Royal Glamorgan Hospital, Llantrisant, Wales, UK
2 University Department of Medicine, City Hospital, Birmingham, UK
Correspondence to:
R I Dewar
Department of Medicine, Royal Glamorgan Hospital, Llantrisant, Wales CF728XR, UK; richard.dewar@pr-tr.wales.nhs.uk
Accepted 1 August 2006
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
Atrial fibrillation is the most common sustained arrhythmia, affecting 2% of the population and about 10% of those aged >80 years,1 and accounts for 1% of all National Health Service expenditure in the UK.2 Atrial fibrillation coexists with common conditions, both cardiovascular (such as hypertension, heart failure, coronary artery disease and diabetes mellitus) and non-cardiovascular (thyroid disease, chest disease, etc), as well as with an increasingly older general population.1 Indeed, hospitalisation rates for atrial fibrillation have increased by nearly 2–3-fold.1 Thus, atrial fibrillation (and its comorbidities) will become an increasing healthcare burden.
The importance of this arrhythmia is reflected by the considerable morbidity and mortality associated with it. As atrial fibrillation is often asymptomatic, it is often diagnosed only when it has caused a (potentially serious) complication, such as an ischaemic stroke.
Appreciation of the clinical subtypes of atrial fibrillation may guide the approach to subsequent management. Atrial fibrillation is
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