Management of patients with newly-diagnosed atrial fibrillation: Insights from the BALKAN-AF survey

•23.6% of patients in the survey had newly-diagnosed atrial fibrillation (AF).•Those patients had different risk profiles than those with a history of AF.•The specificity of the management of first-diagnosed AF patients was presented. BALKAN-AF evaluated patterns of atrial fibrillation (AF) management in real-world clinical practice in the Balkans. The objectives were: to assess the proportion of patients with first-diagnosed AF in the BALKAN-AF cohort and to compare the management of patients with newly-diagnosed AF and those with previously known AF in clinical practice. Consecutive patients from 7 Balkan countries were enrolled prospectively to the snapshot BALKAN-AF survey. Of 2712 enrolled patients, 2677 (98.7%) with complete data were included. 631 (23.6%) patients had newly-diagnosed AF and 2046 (76.4%) patients had known AF. Patients with newly-diagnosed AF were more likely to be hospitalized for AF and to receive single antiplatelet therapy (SAPT) alone and less likely to receive OACs than those with known AF (all p