New research from the University of California San Francisco has found that atrial fibrillation (A-fib), a potentially life-threatening heart condition characterized by a fast and irregular heartbeat, affects 10.5 million adults in the U.S., which is about 5% of the population. The increasing prevalence of A-fib is due to an aging population and rising rates of high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity. The condition can lead to stroke or sudden death, the study said.
“Atrial fibrillation doubles the risk of death, is one of the most common causes of stroke, increases the risk of heart attack, myocardial infarction, chronic kidney disease and dementia, and reduces quality of life,” said first author Jean-Jacques Noubiap, M.D., Ph.D., a postdoctoral scholar at UCSF with expertise in global cardiovascular health.
“Fortunately, atrial fibrillation is preventable, and its adverse outcomes can be greatly reduced with early detection and appropriate treatment,” he said.
A recent study by UCSF investigators analyzed medical records of nearly 30 million adult patients in California who received acute or procedural care between 2005 and 2019. The researchers found that:
- Nearly 2 million patients (6.67%) were diagnosed with atrial fibrillation (A-fib).
- There was a significant increase in the prevalence of A-fib over the study period, rising from 4.49% among patients treated between 2005-2009 to 6.82% among patients treated between 2015-2019.
Atrial fibrillation (A-fib) is a serious condition with a number of potentially life-threatening complications, including mild symptoms such as shortness of breath and dizziness and more severe complications such as blood clots, stroke, and heart attack. Research has shown that people with A-fib are up to five times more likely to have a stroke.
The current analysis is based on medical records and diagnoses, but digital technologies such as wearable devices, mobile apps and electronic health records may uncover even more cases of atrial fibrillation (A-fib).
“With the increasing use of consumer wearable devices designed to detect atrial fibrillation, and more safe and effective means to treat it, the current prevalence of atrial fibrillation in health care settings may soon pale in comparison to the future health care utilization that will be caused by this disease,” said Gregory M. Marcus, MAS, a cardiologist and electrophysiologist at UCSF Health.
