Patient-Centered Management of Atrial Fibrillation: Applying Evidence-Based Care to the Individual Patient

Atrial fibrillation is the most common arrhythmia encountered in clinical practice, and it is one of the most common cardiac conditions requiring hospitalization of a patient. Several national organizations have developed guidelines for the management of atrial fibrillation. These guidelines were updated in 2011 to incorporate new advances in antiarrhythmic drug therapy and anticoagulant therapy, as well as progress in the field of catheter ablation. Many decisions about patient care involve consideration of issues related to lifestyle and quality of life rather than survival. These decisions also involve addressing the key topics of heart rate control, heart rhythm control, and stroke prevention. During the past decade, important advances in the management of atrial fibrillation have created a number of treatment options that have roughly equivalent therapeutic efficacies when they are used for several common clinical situations encountered in clinical practice. The range of available treatments for patients with atrial fibrillation provides an important opportunity for the physician to deliver patient-centered care, which uses patient values to determine the best course of treatment.