Insights on Comprehensive Management of Atrial Fibrillation
Insights on Comprehensive Management of Atrial Fibrillation
This article provides some insights from the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh UK Consensus Conference on approaching the comprehensive management of atrial fibrillation. The four key questions addressed by the conference were: how can we best detect atrial fibrillation (AF)? Should the treatment of AF be targeted towards control of rhythm, rate or both? What is the most effective and safest delivery of thromboprophylaxis in AF? And what are the differences between physician and patient expectations with regard to the management of AF? The key recommendations from the consensus conference were that detection of AF must be improved; a national screening programme should be introduced; uptake of oral anticoagulants must be increased and methods of engaging patients in their AF management should be improved; aspirin should not be used for stroke prevention in AF; and in relation to rate and rhythm control for AF, relief of symptoms should be the goal of treatment. The Consensus Statement and its background papers are recommended reading for the development of local guidelines for management, and for the management of individual patients.
A meeting of over 120 specialists was convened by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE) on 1–2 March 2012 to address the topic of atrial fibrillation (AF). This consensus conference by the RCPE is the second one to cover AF, the first one being successfully held as a joint venture by the RCPE and the University of St Andrews (Scotland, UK) on 3–4 September 1998. The field of AF management has greatly advanced since the 1998 conference, and in 2012, the four key questions addressed by the conference were as follows:
The methodology for convening RCPE Consensus Conferences is published on the RCPE website. It is worth highlighting that the RCPE is the only UK College of Physicians that organizes Consensus Conferences with a standard, evidence-based, multiprofessional consensus methodology. Over the course of a 2-day conference, the multidisciplinary consensus panel reviews all the evidence before drafting the Consensus Statement, that is finally agreed at the end of the conference and published.
Abstract and Introduction
Abstract
This article provides some insights from the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh UK Consensus Conference on approaching the comprehensive management of atrial fibrillation. The four key questions addressed by the conference were: how can we best detect atrial fibrillation (AF)? Should the treatment of AF be targeted towards control of rhythm, rate or both? What is the most effective and safest delivery of thromboprophylaxis in AF? And what are the differences between physician and patient expectations with regard to the management of AF? The key recommendations from the consensus conference were that detection of AF must be improved; a national screening programme should be introduced; uptake of oral anticoagulants must be increased and methods of engaging patients in their AF management should be improved; aspirin should not be used for stroke prevention in AF; and in relation to rate and rhythm control for AF, relief of symptoms should be the goal of treatment. The Consensus Statement and its background papers are recommended reading for the development of local guidelines for management, and for the management of individual patients.
Introduction
A meeting of over 120 specialists was convened by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE) on 1–2 March 2012 to address the topic of atrial fibrillation (AF). This consensus conference by the RCPE is the second one to cover AF, the first one being successfully held as a joint venture by the RCPE and the University of St Andrews (Scotland, UK) on 3–4 September 1998. The field of AF management has greatly advanced since the 1998 conference, and in 2012, the four key questions addressed by the conference were as follows:
How can we best detect AF?
Should the treatment of AF be targeted toward control of rhythm, rate or both?
What is the most effective and safest delivery of thromboprophylaxis in AF?
What are the differences between physician and patient expectations with regard to the management of AF?
The methodology for convening RCPE Consensus Conferences is published on the RCPE website. It is worth highlighting that the RCPE is the only UK College of Physicians that organizes Consensus Conferences with a standard, evidence-based, multiprofessional consensus methodology. Over the course of a 2-day conference, the multidisciplinary consensus panel reviews all the evidence before drafting the Consensus Statement, that is finally agreed at the end of the conference and published.
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