Secular Trends, Treatments, and Outcomes of Middle Eastern Arab and South Asian Patients Hospitalized With Atrial Fibrillation Prevalence of atrial fibrillation in an urban population in India: the Nagpur pilot study Prevalence, incidence and lifetime risk of atrial fibrillation: the Rotterdam study. Atrial Fibrillation Is a Major Risk Factor for Stroke, Especially in Women: The Jichi Medical School Cohort Study Prevalence of atrial fibrillation in elderly subjects (the Cardiovascular Health Study). Women hospitalized with atrial fibrillation: gender differences, trends and outcome from a 20-year registry in a Middle Eastern country (1991-2010). Mortality risk attributable to atrial fibrillation in middle-aged and elderly people in the Japanese general population: nineteen-year follow-up in NIPPON DATA80. Distribution and Risk Profile of Paroxysmal, Persistent, and Permanent Atrial Fibrillation in Routine Clinical Practice: Insight From the Real-Life Global Survey Evaluating Patients With Atrial Fibrillation International Registry Atrial fi brillation in Middle Eastern Arab and South Asian patients hospitalized with acute myocardial infarction: experience from a 20-year Registry in Qatar (1991–2010) The prevalence, incidence, management and risks of atrial fibrillation in an elderly Chinese population: a prospective study Effects of smoking habit on the prevalence of atrial fibrillation in Japanese patients with special reference to sex differences. Atrial fibrillation in the Malmö diet and cancer study: a study of occurrence, risk factors and diagnostic validity Atrial fibrillation incidence and risk factors in relation to race-ethnicity and the population attributable fraction of atrial fibrillation risk factors: the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. Atrial fibrillation and risk of dementia: a prospective cohort study. [The prevalence and distributing feature of atrial fibrillation in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Kazaks adult population]. Development of a Basic Risk Score for Incident Atrial Fibrillation in a Japanese General Population　- The Suita Study. Characterization of different subsets of atrial fibrillation in general practice in France: the ALFA study. The College of French Cardiologists.
A prospect i ve registry was made of all patients hospitalized with atrial fibrillation ( AF ) in the State of Qatar from 1991 to 2010 .  Clinical characteristics , management , and outcomes were compared according to ethnicity ( Middle Eastern Arab vs South Asian ) . During this 20-year period , 2857 Arabs and 548 Asians were hospitalized for AF . Arabs were 9 years older and more likely to have hypertension , diabetes mellitus ( DM ) , chronic renal impairment , and dyslipidemia than the Asians . Valvular heart disease and acute coronary syndromes were more common among Asians , while congestive heart failure was more common in Arabs . The overall inhospital mortality was lower in Asians than that of Arabs , while stroke rates were comparable . There was an increase in the prevalence of DM and hypertension in both the groups in the latter years of the study period , but there was no change in mortality trends . Our findings underscore the need to study AF according to ethnicity Objectives Atrial fibrillation ( AF ) is the most common sustained arrhythmia encountered in clinical practice with major public health impact mainly due to the increased risk of stroke . The recent Global Burden of Disease Study reported a lack of prevalence data from India . Our goal was to conduct a pilot study to evaluate the feasibility of assessing AF prevalence and stroke prophylaxis in an urban Indian community . Methods A screening camp was conducted in Nagpur , India , that evaluated adults aged ≥18 years . We collected  demographics , recorded blood pressure , height , weight and the 12-lead electrocardiogram ( ECG ) .  The presence of diabetes and hypertension was recorded by self-reported history . Patients diagnosed with AF were evaluated further to assess aetiology and management . Results Of the total 4077 r and omly selected , community-dwelling adults studied , 0.196 % ( eight patients ) were found to have AF . Mean age of the population was 43.9±14.8 , and 44.5 % were female . The mean age of the patients with AF was 60.5±15.8 years ( five females )  . Rheumatic heart disease was found in five patients with AF . Three patients had history of stroke ( 37.5 % ) and one had peripheral arterial thrombosis . Three patients were on warfarin , but without routine international normalised ratio ( INR ) monitoring . One patient was on aspirin . Five patients were on β-blockers and one on both β-blocker and digoxin . Conclusions The prevalence of AF was low compared with other regions of the world and stroke prophylaxis was underused . A larger study is needed to confirm these findings . This study demonstrates that larger evaluations would be feasible using the community-based techniques employed here AIMS We aim ed to investigate the prevalence and incidence of atrial fibrillation ( AF )  in a large European population -based study . METHODS AND RESULTS The study is part of the Rotterdam study , a population -based prospect i ve cohort study among subjects aged 55 years and above . The prevalence at baseline was assessed in 6808 participants .  Incidence of AF was investigated during a mean follow-up period of 6.9 years in 6432 persons . We identified 376 prevalent and 437 incident cases . Overall prevalence was 5.5 % , rising from 0.7 % in the age group 55 - 59 years to 17.8 % in those aged 85 years and above . The overall incidence rate was 9.9/1000 person-years . The incidence rate in the age group 55 - 59 years was 1.1/1000 person-years , rose to 20.7/1000 person-years in the age group 80 - 84 years and stabilized in those aged 85 years and above . Prevalence and incidence were higher in men than in women . The lifetime risk to develop AF at the age of 55 years was 23.8 % in men and 22.2 % in women . CONCLUSION In this prospect i ve study in a European population , the prevalence and incidence of AF increased with age and were higher in men than in women . The high lifetime risk to develop AF was similar to North American epidemiological data Background Only a few population -based cohort studies have investigated the impact of  atrial fibrillation ( AF ) on stroke in Japan . Methods A total of 10 929 participants ( 4147 men and 6782 women ) were included in this population -based prospect i ve cohort study . Baseline data , including  electrocardiograms ( ECGs )  to ascertain AF status , were obtained from April 1992 through July 1995 in 12 areas in Japan . Cox proportional hazards models were used to analyze the association of AF with stroke . Results A total of 54 participants had AF ( 0.49 % ) . The mean follow-up period was 10.7 years , during which 405 strokes were identified ; 12 of these occurred in participants with AF . The crude incidence of stroke in participants with and without AF was 14.9 and 4.5 per 1000 person-years in men , respectively , and 39.3 and 2.7 per 1000 person-years in women . After adjusting for geographical area , sex , age , smoking status , drinking status , obesity , hypertension , dyslipidemia , and diabetes mellitus , the hazard ratios ( 95 % confidence interval ) of AF in all participants and in male and female participants were 4.11 ( 2.28–7.41 ) , 2.12 ( 0.77–5.84 ) , and 10.6 ( 5.01–22.4 ) , respectively . The population attributable fraction ( PAF ) of stroke caused by AF was 2.2 % ; the PAFs were 1.0 % and 3.6 % in men and women , respectively . Conclusions The present Japanese population -based prospect i ve cohort study showed that AF is a major risk factor for stroke , especially in women Atrial  fibrillation ( AF ) is a common arrhythmia in elderly persons and a common cause of embolic stroke . Most studies of the prevalence and correlates of AF have used selected , hospital-based population s. The Cardiovascular Health Study is a population -based , longitudinal study of risk factors for coronary artery disease and stroke in 5,201 men and women aged > or = 65 years .  AF  was diagnosed in 4.8 % of women and in 6.2 % of men at the baseline examination , and prevalence was strongly associated with advanced age in women . Prevalence of AF  was 9.1 % in men and women with clinical cardiovascular disease , 4.6 % in patients with evidence of sub clinical but no clinical cardiovascular disease , and only 1.6 % in subjects with neither clinical nor sub clinical cardiovascular disease . A history of congestive heart failure , valvular heart disease and stroke , echocardiographic evidence of enlarged left atrial dimension , abnormal mitral or aortic valve function , treated systemic hypertension , and advanced age were independently associated with the prevalence of AF .  The low prevalence of AF in the absence of clinical and sub clinical cardiovascular disease calls into question the existence and clinical usefulness of the concept of so-called " lone atrial fibrillation " in the elderly BACKGROUND Most of the published research on atrial fibrillation ( AF ) is limited to studies in the developed world and included mainly Caucasian patients . Data about women with AF among other ethnicities is very limited . OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to compare the clinical characteristics , treatment and outcome of women to men hospitalized with AF in a middle-eastern country . METHODS Retrospective analysis of prospect i ve registry of all patients hospitalized with AF in Qatar from 1991 through 2010 was made . Clinical characteristics , management , and outcomes of AF patients were compared according to gender . RESULTS During the 20-years period ; 1417 women and 2432 men were hospitalized for AF . Women were 5 years older and more likely to have diabetes mellitus , hypertension , and chronic renal impairment and were also less likely to be current smokers and to have ischemic heart disease and impaired left ventricular function when compared to men . There was no gender preference in the use of anticoagulation . The prevalence of concomitant ischemic heart disease and hypertension increased , while the prevalence of valvular heart disease and heart failure decreased among patients hospitalized with AF over the study period . In-hospital mortality and stroke rates were comparable between the two groups . CONCLUSIONS Women hospitalized with atrial fibrillation were older in age and had higher prevalence of co-morbid cardiovascular risk factors compared to men whereas , mortality and stroke rates were comparable BACKGROUND The extent to which  atrial fibrillation ( AF ) contributes to mortality in the Japanese general population has not been clarified . METHODS AND RESULTS A r and omly sample d general population from all over Japan ( 4,154 men , 5,329 women ; age > or = 30 years ) was enrolled .  Single electrocardiogram recordings  were taken in the baseline survey . Stroke death , cardiovascular deaths and all-cause deaths during the subsequent 19 years were analyzed by the presence of AF at baseline . Cox 's regression analysis was carried out to estimate the hazard ratios ( HRs ) of each cause of death attributable to AF after adjusting for other risk factors . Prevalence of AF was 0.64 % in the study . The observed person-years were 162,980 among persons without AF and 699 among persons with AF . There were 1,919 deaths . Multivariate adjusted HRs for stroke death , cardiovascular death and all-cause death were 2.69 , 2.76 and 1.88 , respectively ( p<0.05 ) . These HRs were 14.7 , 9.63 and 4.00 among persons aged 64 years or younger ( p<0.05 ) . CONCLUSION AF affects stroke mortality , cardiovascular mortality and all-cause mortality in the Japanese general population . Careful attention should be paid to persons with AF in order to prevent future cardiovascular events Background — There is a paucity of international data on the various types of atrial fibrillation ( AF ) outside the highly selected population s from r and omized trials . This study aim ed to describe patient characteristics , risk factors , comorbidities , symptoms , management strategy , and control of different types of AF in real-life practice . Methods and Results — Real-life global survey evaluating patients with atrial fibrillation ( RealiseAF ) was a contemporary , large-scale , cross-sectional international survey of patients with AF who had ≥1 episode in the past 12 months . Investigators were r and omly selected to avoid bias . Among 9816 eligible patients from 831 sites in 26 countries , 2606 ( 26.5 % ) had paroxysmal , 2341 ( 23.8 % ) had persistent , and 4869 ( 49.6 % ) had permanent AF . As AF progressed from paroxysmal to persistent and permanent forms , the prevalence of comorbidities , such as heart failure ( 32.9 % , 44.3 % , and 55.6 % ) , coronary artery disease ( 30.0 % , 32.9 % , and 34.3 % ) , cerebrovascular disease ( 11.7 % , 10.8 % , and 17.6 % ) , and valvular disease ( 16.7 % , 21.2 % , and 35.8 % ) , increased , and the prevalence of lone AF decreased . Similarly , there was an increase in mean CHADS2 [ cardiac failure , hypertension , age , diabetes , stroke ( doubled ) ] score ( 1.7 , 1.8 , and 2.2 ) , and more than half of patients ( 51.0 % , 56.7 % , and 67.3 % ) qualified for oral anticoagulants . Almost 90 % of patients received ≥1 antiarrhythmic drug , but > 60 % had European Heart Rhythm Association symptom scores from II to IV . Furthermore , 40.7 % of persistent and 49.8 % of permanent AF patients were still in AF with a heart rate > 80 beats per minute . Conclusions — This survey disclosed high cardiovascular risks and an unmet need in daily practice for patients with any type of AF , especially those with the permanent form Background Recent evidence suggests that there are ethnic variations in atrial fi brillation ( AF ) susceptibility and incidence following acute myocardial infa rct ion ( AMI ) . Objectives The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence and predictors of AF in the setting of AMI in Middle Eastern Arab and South Asian patients and its impact on in-hospital morbidity and mortality . Methods A retrospective analysis of a prospect i ve registry of all patients hospitalized with AMI in the state of Qatar from 1991 through 2010 was made . Clinical characteristics and outcomes of  AMI patients with and without AF  were compared . Sub- analysis according to ethnicity was also performed . Results During the 20-year period ; a total of 12,881 patients were hospitalized with AMI . Of these 5028 were Arabs and 5985 were South Asians . A total of 227 had AF during hospitalization with an overall incidence of 1.8 % ( 156 Arabs ; incidence 3.1 % and 48 South Asians ; incidence 0.8 % ) . The mean age of AF patients was 65 years ( Arabs 69 , South Asians 54 ) . Patients with AF were signifi cantly older and had more cardiovascular co-morbidities than patients without AF , and were more likely to have non-ST elevation AMI on presentation . Patients with AF had signifi cantly higher in-hospital mortality rate ( 20.3 % versus 7.1 % ; P= 0.001 ) and stroke rates ( 1.8 % versus 0.3 % ; P= 0.001 ) when compared to patients without AF . Age was the only independent predictor of AF development in patients with AMI in our study . Conclusions Our study reports variability in the prevalence of AF among AMI patients according to ethnicity using a 20-year registry from a Middle Eastern country . Advancing age was the major independent predictor of AF in our AMI patients . Further prospect i ve studies are required evaluating optimal therapeutic approaches for these high-risk patients in order to reduce the high mortality observed Background There is limited information on prevalent and incident atrial fibrillation in Chinese . We aim ed to investigate the prevalence , incidence , management and risks of atrial fibrillation in an elderly Chinese population . Methods In a population —based prospect i ve study in elderly ( ≥60 years ) Chinese , we performed cardiovascular health examinations including a 12-lead electrocardiogram at baseline in 3,922 participants  and biennially during follow-up in 2,017 participants . We collected information on vital status during the whole follow-up period . Results The baseline prevalence of atrial fibrillation was 2.0 % ( n = 34 ) in 1718 men and 1.6 % ( n = 36 ) in 2204 women . During a median 3.8 years of follow-up , the incidence rate of atrial fibrillation ( n = 34 ) was 4.9 per 1000 person-years ( 95 % confidence interval [ CI ] , 3.4–6.9 ) . In univariate analysis , both the prevalence and incidence of atrial fibrillation were higher with age advancing ( P < 0.0001 ) and in the presence of coronary heart disease ( P ≤ 0.02 ) . Of the 104 prevalent and incident cases of atrial fibrillation , only 1 ( 1.0 % ) received anticoagulant therapy ( warfarin ) . These patients with atrial fibrillation , compared with those with sinus rhythm , had significantly higher risks of all-cause ( n = 261 , hazard ratio [ HR ] 1.87 , 95 % CI , 1.09–3.20 , P = 0.02 ) , cardiovascular ( n = 136 , HR 3.78 , 95 % CI 2.17–6.58 , P < 0.0001 ) and stroke mortality ( n = 44 , HR 6.31 , 95 % CI 2.81–14.19 , P = 0.0003 ) . Conclusions Atrial fibrillation was relatively frequent in elderly Chinese , poorly managed and associated with higher risks of mortality BACKGROUND Tobacco smoking is a well-known risk factor for cardiovascular disease , but controversial results have been reported regarding its relationship with  atrial fibrillation ( AF ) . Moreover , no study on the relationship between smoking and AF has yet been undertaken in a Japanese context . METHODS AND RESULTS We used data from the Shinken Data base 2004 - 2011 ( men/women , n=10,714/6,803 , respectively ) , which included all new patients attending the Cardiovascular Institute between June 2004 and March 2012 . AF was diagnosed in 1,698 and 598 men and women , respectively . In men , smokers were more prevalent in the AF than in the non-AF group ( 54.5 % vs. 44.7 % ) , whereas in women the prevalence of smokers was similar between AF and non-AF groups ( 14.4 % vs. 15.4 % ) . This discrepancy between the sexes seems to derive from a characteristic distribution pattern of smoking habit in women . After adjustment for various cofactors , smoking was independently associated with AF ( odds ratio 1.54 ; 95 % confidence interval 1.35 - 1.75 ; P<0.001 ) without a significant interaction between sex categories ( P=0.195 ) . CONCLUSIONS Smoking was independently associated with AF without a significant interaction between sex categories among Japanese patients visiting a cardiovascular hospital . Further studies using a prospect i ve cohort design are required to confirm a causal link between smoking and AF in Japanese patients The validity of atrial fibrillation ( AF ) diagnoses in national registers for use as endpoints in prospect i ve studies has not been evaluated . We studied the validity of AF diagnoses in Swedish national hospital discharge and cause of death registers and the occurrence of and risk factors for AF in a middle-aged Swedish population using these registers . Our study included the 30,447 individuals ( age 44–73 ) who attended baseline visits in 1991–1996 of the Malmö Diet and Cancer study . Individuals with a first AF diagnosis were identified by record linkage with national registers . A subset of cases was r and omly selected for validation by examination of electrocardiograms and patient records . Electrocardiograms were available in 98 % of the validation sample ( 95 % definitive AF , 3 % no AF ) . The 2 % with ECGs unavailable had probable AF . Baseline AF prevalence was 1.3 % , higher in men and increased with age . During 11.2 years of follow-up 1430 first AF diagnoses occurred . Risk factors were age , hypertension , BMI , diabetes , history of heart failure , history of myocardial infa rct ion and , in men but not women , current smoking . The strongest risk factors were history of heart failure ( hazard ratio men 4.5 , women 8.7 ) and myocardial infa rct ion ( hazard ratio men 2.0 , women 1.8 ) . The largest population attributable risks were observed for hypertension ( men 38 % , women 34 % ) and obesity ( men 11 % , women 10 % ) . In conclusion , case misclassification of AF in national registers is small , indicating feasibility of use in prospect i ve studies . Hypertension and obesity account for large portions of population risk in middle-aged individuals with low prevalence of manifest cardiac disease PURPOSE We studied incident atrial fibrillation ( AF ) in the prospect i ve community-based Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis ( MESA ) . Reportedly , non-Hispanic blacks ( NHBs ) have a lower AF burden compared with their non-Hispanic white ( NHW ) counterparts . Information on the epidemiology of AF in Hispanic and Asian population s is much more limited . METHODS We excluded participants with a history of AF at enrollment . A total of 6721 MESA participants were monitored for the first AF event ascertained according to hospital discharge International Classification of Diseases , Ninth Revision , codes . Age- and sex-adjusted incidence rates ( IRs ) of AF were calculated per 1000 person-years of observation . IR ratios were calculated using NHWs as the reference group . Age- and sex-adjusted population attributable fractions ( PAFs ) of established modifiable AF risk factors were ascertained . RESULTS In the MESA cohort , 47.2 % was male ; at baseline , 25.7 % had hypertension ; 12.5 % had diabetes . Three hundred five incident hospitalized AF events occurred over a mean follow-up of 7.3 years . Age- and sex-adjusted IRs and IR ratios showed that overall AF incidence was significantly lower among Hispanics , NHBs and Chinese compared with NHWs ( all P < .001 ) . Among participants 65 years of age or greater , Hispanics , Chinese , and blacks had significantly lower AF incidence than NHWs ( all P ≤ .01 ) , but IRs were similar among participants under age 65 years . The PAF for smoking was 27 % among NHBs but lower among other race-ethnic groups . Among NHWs , the PAF for hypertension was 22.2 % , but this was higher among NHBs ( 33.1 % ) , Chinese ( 46.3 % ) , and Hispanics ( 43.9 % ) . CONCLUSIONS Overall , the incidence of hospitalized AF was significantly lower in Hispanics , NHBs , and Chinese than in NHWs . A larger proportion of AF events appear to be attributable to hypertension among nonwhite population s compared with NHWs OBJECTIVES To determine whether  atrial fibrillation ( AF )  is associated with risk of incident dementia or Alzheimer 's disease ( AD ) , beyond its effect on stroke . DESIGN Prospect i ve cohort study . SETTING An integrated healthcare delivery system . PARTICIPANTS A population -based sample of 3,045 community-dwelling adults aged 65 and older without dementia or clinical stroke followed from 1994 to 2008 . MEASUREMENTS AF was identified from health plan electronic data using International Classification of Diseases , Ninth Revision , codes from inpatient and outpatient encounters . Covariates came from self-report , study measures , and health plan data . Participants were screened every 2 years using the Cognitive Abilities Screening Instrument ( range 0 - 100 ) , with detailed neuropsychological and clinical assessment of those scoring less than 86 . A multidisciplinary consensus committee determined diagnoses of all-cause dementia and possible or probable AD using st and ard research criteria . RESULTS  AF  was present in 132 ( 4.3 % ) participants at baseline and was diagnosed in 370 ( 12.2 % ) more over a mean of 6.8 years of follow-up ; 572 participants ( 18.8 % ) developed dementia ( 449 with AD ) . The adjusted hazard ratio associated with AF was 1.38 ( 95 % confidence interval (CI)=1.10 - 1.73 ) for all-cause dementia and 1.50 ( 95 % CI=1.16 - 1.94 ) for possible or probable AD . Results were similar for participants with and without clinical ly recognized stroke during follow-up and in sensitivity analyses examining only probable AD . CONCLUSION AF is associated with higher risk of developing AD and dementia . Future studies should examine whether specific treatments , including optimal anticoagulation , can decrease this risk OBJECTIVE To investigate the prevalence and distributing feature of  atrial fibrillation ( AF ) in Xinjiang Kazaks adult population . METHODS Four-stage selected r and om sample s aged 30 - 89 years from Tacheng , Yili and Aletai  were analyzed . An epidemical study of AF was performed including inquiring medical history , recording electrocardiogram and auscultation . RESULTS A total of 22 514 adults were surveyed . The prevalence of AF in Xinjiang Kazaks adult population was 0.37 % , which was increasing with aging . The prevalence was higher in men than in women ( 0.5 % vs 0.2 % , P < 0.01 ) . In AF patients , 23 was valvular AF . Ischemic stroke was the most frequent type and the stroke rate in the patients with AF was significantly higher than that without AF ( 6.0 % vs 1.2 % , P < 0.01 ) . CONCLUSIONS The prevalence of AF in Xinjiang Kazaks adult population is lower than the reported national prevalence but patients with AF in this population would not like to take the necessary medicine . Therefore , the control of AF need to be reinforced BACKGROUND An atrial fibrillation ( AF ) risk score for a non-Western general population has not been established . Methods and Results : A total of 6,898 participants ( 30 - 79 years old ) initially free of AF have been prospect ively followed for incident AF since 1989 . AF was diagnosed when AF or atrial flutter was present on ECG at a biannual health examination ; was indicated as a current illness ; or was in the medical records during follow-up . Cox proportional hazard ratios were analyzed after adjusting for cardiovascular risk factors at baseline . During the 95,180 person-years of follow-up , 311 incident AF events occurred . We developed a scoring system for each risk factor as follows : 0/-5 , 3/0 , 7/5 , and 9/9 points for men/women in their 30 s-40 s , 50 s , 60 s , and 70 s , respectively ; 2 points for systolic hypertension , overweight , excessive drinking , or coronary artery disease ; 1 point for current smoking ; -1 point for moderate non-high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol ; 4 points for arrhythmia ; and 8 , 6 , and 2 points for subjects with cardiac murmur in their 30 s-40 s , 50 s , and 60 s , respectively ( C-statistic 0.749 ; 95 % confidence interval , 0.724 - 0.774 ) . Individuals with score ≤2 , 10 - 11 , or ≥16 points had , respectively , ≤1 % , 9 % , and 27 % observed probability of developing AF in 10 years . CONCLUSIONS We developed a 10-year risk score for incident AF using traditional risk factors that are easily obtained in routine outpatient clinics/health examinations without ECG BACKGROUND The clinical presentation and causes of  atrial fibrillation ( AF )  in the 1990s may differ from AF seen 2 to 3 decades ago . It was the objective of this prospect i ve study to characterize various clinical presentations and underlying conditions of patients with AF observed in general practice in France . METHODS AND RESULTS The study population comprised 756 patients ( 19 to 95 years of age ) with electrocardiographically documented AF subdivided into paroxysmal ( < 7 days ) , chronic ( last episode > 1 month ) and recent onset AF(persistent > 7 days and < 1 month ) .  Symptoms were present in 670 patients ( 88.6 % ) . The relative prevalences of paroxysmal , chronic , and recent onset AF were 22.1 % , 51.4 % , and 26.4 % , respectively . Cardiac disorders , present in 534 patients ( 70.6 % ) , included hypertension ( 39.4 % ) , coronary artery disease ( 16.6 % ) , and myocardial diseases ( 15.3 % ) as the most common . Rheumatic valvular disease represented a common cause in women ( 25 . 0 % ) but not in men ( 8.0 % ) . The paroxysmal group differed by a high percentage of palpitations ( 79.0 % ) and a low percentage of underlying heart disease ( 53.9 % ) . With a mean follow-up of 8.6+/-3.7 months , 28 patients ( 3.7 % ) died , including 6 fatal cerebrovascular accidents . Among the 728 patients who survived , congestive heart failure occurred in 30 patients ( 4.1 % ) , and embolic complications occurred in 13 patients ( 1.8 % ) . In the paroxysmal AF group , 13 patients ( 8.0 % ) developed chronic AF and 51 ( 31.3 % ) had AF recurrences . At the time of follow-up , 53 patients ( 14.3 % ) from the chronic AF group and 108 patients ( 55.7 % ) from the recent onset AF group were in sinus rhythm . CONCLUSIONS This large-scale study establishes the current demographic profile of out-of-hospital patients with AF and highlights some of the changes that have occurred in the past decades , including a particular shift in cardiac causes toward nonrheumatic AF . This study also demonstrates significant differences between various subsets of AF
: The incidence and prevalence of AF have increased in recent years , although great variability still exists in Asian countries .
Variability in annual IS risk in patients with AF was apparent between hospital‐ and community‐based studies .
BACKGROUND : Our previous review reported great variability in the incidence and prevalence of atrial fibrillation ( AF ) in non‐Western cohorts , especially from Asian countries ; in recent years , epidemiologic studies on AF have been increasingly reported from Asia .
METHODS : The goal of this up date d systematic review was to present the current knowledge base of AF epidemiology in Asian countries since our previous review .