title: 2016 Guidelines of the Taiwan Heart Rhythm Society and the Taiwan Society of Cardiology for the management of atrial fibrillation.
abstract: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained arrhythmia. Both the incidence and prevalence of AF are increasing, and the burden of AF is becoming huge. Many innovative advances have emerged in the past decade for the diagnosis and management of AF, including a new scoring system for the prediction of stroke and bleeding events, the introduction of non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants and their special benefits in Asians, new rhythm- and rate-control concepts, optimal endpoints of rate control, upstream therapy, life-style modification to prevent AF recurrence, and new ablation techniques. The Taiwan Heart Rhythm Society and the Taiwan Society of Cardiology aimed to update the information and have appointed a jointed writing committee for new AF guidelines. The writing committee members comprehensively reviewed and summarized the literature, and completed the 2016 Guidelines of the Taiwan Heart Rhythm Society and the Taiwan Society of Cardiology for the Management of Atrial Fibrillation. This guideline presents the details of the updated recommendations, along with their background and rationale, focusing on data unique for Asians. The guidelines are not mandatory, and members of the writing committee fully realize that treatment of AF should be individualized. The physician's decision remains most important in AF management.
authors.affiliation: General Clinical Research Center, Division of Cardiology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital and National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan. Electronic address: cechiang@vghtpe.gov.tw.
authors.forename: Chern-En
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Chiang
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular Center, Department of Internal Medicine, Taichung Veterans General Hospital and National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Tsu-Juey
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Chung-Shan Medical University (Hospital), Taichung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Kwo-Chang
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Ueng
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; Institute of Clinical Medicine, and Cardiovascular Research Center, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Tze-Fan
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Chao
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Clinical Medical Science, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Kuan-Cheng
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Cardiology, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chun-Chieh
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; Institute of Clinical Medicine, and Cardiovascular Research Center, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yenn-Jiang
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Heart Center, Cheng Hsin General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; Faculty of Medicine, School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Wei-Hsian
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, MacKay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Medicine, Mackay Medical College, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Jen-Yuan
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Kuo
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Tri-Service General Hospital and National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Wei-Shiang
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine and Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chia-Ti
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine and Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; Division of Cardiology, National Taiwan University Hospital Hsin-Chu Branch, Hsin-Chu, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yen-Bin
authors.initials: YB
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Kun-Tai
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, National Cheng Kung University College of Medicine and Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Li-Jen
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine and Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Lian-Yu
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: General Clinical Research Center, Division of Cardiology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital and National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Kang-Ling
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan; Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Wan Fang Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yi-Jen
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Mien-Cheng
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Chi Mei Medical Center, Tainan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chen-Chuan
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Cardiology, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Ming-Shien
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Wen
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine and Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; Division of Cardiology, Poh-Ai Hospital, Yilan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Wen-Jone
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, National Cheng Kung University College of Medicine and Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan; College of Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Jyh-Hong
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Wen-Ter
authors.initials: WT
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; Institute of Clinical Medicine, and Cardiovascular Research Center, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chuen-Wang
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Chiou
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine and Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Jiunn-Lee
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Cardiology, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan. Electronic address: ysjepsrf@cgmh.org.tw.
authors.forename: San-Jou
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Yeh
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; Institute of Clinical Medicine, and Cardiovascular Research Center, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan. Electronic address: sachen@vghtpe.gov.tw.
authors.forename: Shih-Ann
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000925:Anticoagulants / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000628:therapy*; D002309:Cardiology; D017115:Catheter Ablation / Q000379:methods*; D006470:Hemorrhage / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D012955:Societies, Medical; D020521:Stroke / Q000517:prevention & control; D013624:Taiwan
chemical_list: D000925:Anticoagulants
keywords: ablation; antiarrhythmic agents; anticoagulation; atrial fibrillation; non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant; vitamin K antagonist