title: Prevalence of atrial fibrillation in a primary health care centre in Fars Province, Islamic Republic of Iran.
abstract: This study determined the prevalence of atrial fibrillation at a primary health care centre in Fars province of the Islamic Republic of Iran. All ambulatory people aged > or = 50 years visiting the centre between April and October 2001 were screened for atrial fibrillation using a standard 12-lead ECG. The mean +/- SD age of participants was 64.0 +/- 8.9 years. Of 463 participants aged 50-79 years, 13 (2.8%) had atrial fibrillation (median age 74 years), significantly more women (10/230) than men (3/233). Unlike previous studies in industrialized countries, the prevalence tripled with each decade of life and increased significantly from 0.6% in the 50-59 years to 6.4% in the 70-79 years age group. With increasing longevity in some developing countries, atrial fibrillation and consequently stroke may become major health problems.
authors.affiliation: Shiraz National Iranian Oil Company, Medical Education and Research Centre, Shiraz, Islamic, Republic of Iran.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Habibzadeh
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yadollahie
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Roshanipoor
authors.forename: A Boroomand
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Haghighi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015984:Causality; D003906:Developing Countries; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005194:Family Practice; D005260:Female; D019456:Health Transition; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D008136:Longevity; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D011159:Population Surveillance; D015995:Prevalence; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017678:Sex Distribution