A national survey of the prevalence, incidence, primary care burden and treatment of atrial fibrillation in Scotland

Objective: To examine the epidemiology, primary care burden and treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF). Design: Cross-sectional data from primary care practices participating in the Scottish Continuous Morbidity Recording scheme between April 2001 and March 2002. Setting: 55 primary care practices (362 155 patients). Participants: 3135 patients with AF. Results: The prevalence of AF in Scotland was 9.4/1000 in men and 7.9/1000 in women (p85 years). The prevalence of AF decreased with increasing socioeconomic deprivation (9.2/1000 least deprived and 7.5/1000 most deprived category, p = 0.02 for trend). 71% of patients with AF received rate-controlling medication: β-blocker 28%, rate-limiting calcium-channel blocker 42% and digoxin 43%. 42% of patients received warfarin, 44% received aspirin and 78% receeved more than one of these. Multivariable analysis showed that men and women aged ⩾75 years were more likely (than those aged