Burden of atrial fibrillation.
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained cardiac arrhythmia seen in clinical practice and has attracted much attention due to its association with a substantial mortality and morbidity, particularly from stroke, thromboembolism and heart failure. This Editorial Commentary provides a brief overview of the clinical, economic and epidemiological burden of AF, particularly in the context of hospital readmission of patients with AF. It concludes that further studies on identifying factors and reasons for readmission in AF patients are therefore warranted. Understanding the patterns and factors that are responsible for readmission would help clinicians optimise the treatment strategies for AF patients and in turn improve quality of care and potentially lessen the large burden of AF on healthcare systems.
Chee W
CW
Khoo
Gregory Y H
GY
Lip
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology; D017281:Cost of Illness; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011787:Quality of Health Care / Q000191:economics