title: Outcomes registry for better informed treatment of atrial fibrillation: rationale and design of ORBIT-AF.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained cardiac arrhythmia and is associated with an increased risk of stroke, heart failure, and death. Data on contemporary treatment patterns and outcomes associated with AF in clinical practice are limited.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Outcomes Registry for Better Informed Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation is a multicenter, prospective, ambulatory-based registry of incident and prevalent AF. The registry will be a nationwide collaboration of health care providers, including internists, primary care physicians, cardiologists, and electrophysiologists. Initial target enrollment is approximately 10,000 patients to be recruited from approximately 200 US outpatient practices. Enrolled patients will be observed for ≥2 years. A patient-reported outcomes substudy in ≥1,500 patients will provide serial quality-of-life assessments. The goal is to characterize treatment and outcomes of patients with AF, thereby promoting better quality of AF care and improved patient outcomes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The Outcomes Registry for Better Informed Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation will provide insights into "real-world" treatment including rate and rhythm control, stroke prevention, transitions to new therapies, and clinical and patient-centered outcomes among patients with AF in community practice settings (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01165710).
authors: Duke Clinical Research Institute, Durham, NC, USA. jonathan.piccini@duke.edu
authors: Jonathan P
authors: JP
authors: Piccini
authors: Elizabeth S
authors: ES
authors: Fraulo
authors: Jack E
authors: JE
authors: Ansell
authors: Gregg C
authors: GC
authors: Fonarow
authors: Bernard J
authors: BJ
authors: Gersh
authors: Alan S
authors: AS
authors: Go
authors: Elaine M
authors: EM
authors: Hylek
authors: Peter R
authors: PR
authors: Kowey
authors: Kenneth W
authors: KW
authors: Mahaffey
authors: Laine E
authors: LE
authors: Thomas
authors: Melissa H
authors: MH
authors: Kong
authors: Renato D
authors: RD
authors: Lopes
authors: Roger M
authors: RM
authors: Mills
authors: Eric D
authors: ED
authors: Peterson
mesh_terms: D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012042:Registries