Management of atrial fibrillation: easy as ABC

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the commonest sustained arrhythmia with increasing incidence worldwide. AF is a major cause of morbidity (resulting from heart failure, stroke and hospitalization) and mortality. The aim of primary and specialist care is to improve patient outcome through early detection...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inMinerva medica Vol. 110; no. 1; p. 27
Main Authors Mahmood, Maria, Lip, Gregory Y
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Italy 01.02.2019
Subjects
Anticoagulants - therapeutic use
Atrial Fibrillation - complications
Atrial Fibrillation - therapy
Cardiovascular Diseases - prevention & control
Decision Trees
Humans
Patient-Centered Care
Risk Assessment
Stroke - epidemiology
Stroke - etiology
Stroke - prevention & control
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Summary:Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the commonest sustained arrhythmia with increasing incidence worldwide. AF is a major cause of morbidity (resulting from heart failure, stroke and hospitalization) and mortality. The aim of primary and specialist care is to improve patient outcome through early detection of AF and optimal clinical management. In this review, we present the ABC Pathway for the holistic, integrated management of patients diagnosed with AF: "A" avoid stroke with anticoagulation; "B" for better symptom management with patient-centered, symptom directed decisions on rate or rhythm control; and "C" cardiovascular and comorbidity risk reduction, including lifestyle factors and psychological morbidity. We discuss the evidence underpinning this strategy and highlight areas of further research.
ISSN:1827-1669
DOI:10.23736/S0026-4806.18.05824-X