ATRIAL FIBRILLATION: It affects 5% of the population

This first estimate thus reports, across the United States, a prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF) which would exceed 10 million people. Atrial fibrillation, characterized by a rapid and irregular heart rate, would affect nearly 5% of the population, according to this new modeling.

Previous studies have shown the increase in the condition, for at least the last 10 yearsdue to the aging population, increasing rates of hypertension, diabetes and obesity.

Atrial fibrillation causes a wide spectrum of complications ranging from shortness of breath and dizziness to blood clots, stroke and even heart failure. Studies have shown that people with atrial fibrillation are up to 5 times more likely to have a stroke. Lead author Dr. Jean Jacques Noubiap, a UCSF researcher and expert in global cardiovascular health, adds: “Atrial fibrillation doubles the risk of mortality, is one of the most common causes of stroke, heart failure, myocardial infarction, chronic kidney disease and dementia. AF also causes a significant deterioration in quality of life.”

The study analyzes the medical records of nearly 30 million adult patients who received care from 2005 to 2019 and of whom approximately 2 million had a diagnosis of atrial fibrillation. This analysis reveals that:

• the prevalence of AF increased from 4.49% between 2005 and 2009 to 6.82% between 2015 and 2019;
• over the study period, patients with AF became younger, more largely male, and more likely to have hypertension and diabetes;
• these rates made it possible to estimate the current prevalence at more than 10 million people in the United States alone.

Atrial fibrillation is preventable,

via a early detection and appropriate treatment, which significantly reduces its adverse effects. These data indeed reflect the need and urgency for better prevention and better treatment.

“Doctors recognize that FA is encountered in virtually all specialties »adds one of the lead authors, Dr. Gregory M. Marcus, a cardiologist and electrophysiologist at UCSF Health. “Our analysis provides objective evidence of serious underestimation of the true frequency of the disease.”

The use of wearable devices to detect atrial fibrillation could even demonstrate that this new data remains underestimated.