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Atrial Fibrillation and Flutter

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Cardiovascular Medicine

Abstract

Atrial fibrillation (AF) has been recognized as a distinct rhythm since the beginning of the 20th century.1 In clinical practice, AF is the most common sustained arrhythmia encountered, yet it remains one of the greatest challenges in the field of heart rhythm disorders. Based on epidemiologic data, close to 1% of persons older than 60 years suffer from AF, increasing to more than 5% of persons aged 70 years and older, with the rate of newly diagnosed AF approximately effectively doubling with each decade.2 Overall, one in four men and women after age 40 are destined to develop AF, falling only slightly to one in six in persons without prior history of cardiac disease such as myocardial infarction (MI) or congestive heart failure.3 Over the past 30 years, data from the Rochester Epidemiology Project are consistent with these findings, pointing to a significant increase in the age-adjusted prevalence of AF in patients with ischemic stroke when compared with age- and gender-matched controls and was observed both in males and females.4 In the United States this translates to roughly 2.3 million people affected by AF, a figure projected to increase to around 3.3 million by 2010 and 5.6 million by 2050.5 Added to this, the proportion of patients with AF older than 80 years is expected to exceed 50% by 2050 (Fig. 92.1). In all, AF represents a growing epidemic.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Cardiovascular Diseases, Mayo Clinic and Mayo Foundation, Rochester, MN, USA

    Peter A. Brady MD, FRCP

  2. Division of Cardiovascular Diseases and Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA

    Bernard J. Gersh MB, ChB, DPhil

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  1. Peter A. Brady MD, FRCP
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  2. Bernard J. Gersh MB, ChB, DPhil
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston, Houston

    James T. Willerson MD (President, President-Elect and Medical Director) (President, President-Elect and Medical Director)

  2. Texas Heart Institute, Houston, TX, USA

    James T. Willerson MD (President, President-Elect and Medical Director) (President, President-Elect and Medical Director)

  3. Department of Cardiology, University of Maastricht, Masstricht, The Netherlands

    Hein J. J. Wellens MD (Emeritus Professor) (Emeritus Professor)

  4. Rasmussen Center for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Cardiovascular Division, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    Jay N. Cohn MD (Professor of Medicine and Director) (Professor of Medicine and Director)

  5. Cardiovascular Medicine, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, MN, USA

    David R. Holmes Jr. MD (Consultant, Professor of Medicine and Scripps Professor) (Consultant, Professor of Medicine and Scripps Professor)

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© 2007 Springer-Verlag London Limited

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Brady, P.A., Gersh, B.J. (2007). Atrial Fibrillation and Flutter. In: Willerson, J.T., Wellens, H.J.J., Cohn, J.N., Holmes, D.R. (eds) Cardiovascular Medicine. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84628-715-2_95

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84628-715-2_95

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