Epidemiology

AF is the most common sustained cardiac arrhythmia worldwide.[1] The Global Burden of Disease 2017 study found the prevalence of AF to be 481.5 per 100,000 person-years, affecting 19.8 million men and 17.8 million women worldwide.[4] The estimated global prevalence was 50 million in 2020.[1]​ However, the true prevalence is difficult to ascertain. Both incidence and prevalence rates are higher in older people, and in developed countries, with the highest prevalence in high-income North America.[4][5]​ 

While the age-adjusted incidence and prevalence of AF are lower in women than in men, mortality risk due to AF is similar or higher in women compared with men.[2] Women with AF may be more symptomatic, older, and/or have more comorbidities than men.[5]

Epidemiologic data on new-onset AF are limited. Extrapolation from the Framingham study indicates the incidence of new-onset AF in middle-aged (age 55 years) women and men to be 0.2% and 0.3%, respectively.[6] In patients with a first-ever ischemic stroke, there is a high prevalence (15% to 25%) of AF, and the incidence of AF is around 5%.[7][8] Studies assessing prolonged ECG monitoring (using a 30-day event-triggered recorder, or an insertable cardiac monitoring device) in patients with cryptogenic stroke have found AF to be common in these patients.[9][10][11] New-onset AF occurs in approximately 10% of patients after acute myocardial infarction and in 20% of patients with heart failure, and independently predicts a worse short- and long-term prognosis among patients with these conditions.[12][13][14][15][16]

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