Batrial Fibrillation: A Case Study

BAtrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia encountered in clinical practice, particularly in the aged population. Incidence and prevalence of AF have constantly been on the rise over the last decades and expected to double by 2050, partly because of growing aging population. It has been estimated that AF is affecting 8-9% of people aged 80 years or more and 35% of patients with AF are > 80 years of age(1, 2). Epidemiologic studies estimated AF to be in the rage of 1-2% of the general population of the developed world. Substantial proportion in the developing countries are also affected by this emerging epidemic (3, 4). Global burden of diseases 2010 estimated that about 33.5 million people were affected with AF throughout the world indicting progressive increase in overall burden, incidence, prevalence and AF-associated mortality between 1990 and 2010(5). Prevalence in Europe is more than 2% and projected to affect about 14-17 million people by 2030(6). Current estimate in the USA is about 2-3 million (7, 8) and up to 8 million people in China have AF (9, 10). …show more content…
This will lead to the flow of embolus in the systemic circulation increasing the risk of ischemic stroke. Clinical significance of AF lies on its association with five-fold increase in the risk of stroke. Stroke due to AF is known to be more sever, disabling and increases the likelihood of recurrence in survivors (13, 14). AF accounts for 15 to 20% of all strokes, 36% of strokes for individuals aged >80, of which >20% are fatal (15, 16). Hence, stroke prevention is considered to be a critical component of AF management and oral anticoagulant (OAC) therapy is recommended to AF patients with additional risk