Causes of death in atrial fibrillation: Challenges and opportunities

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is an age-related arrhythmia associated with several co-morbidities and significant mortality. Most AF patients are in need of anticoagulation due to increased risk of stroke. Despite anticoagulation, AF patients still have a significant risk of death (about 5% per year). Approximately half of deaths in AF are due to heart-related causes (i.e.: sudden death, heart failure, myocardial infarction), one third of deaths are due to non-vascular causes (i.e.: cancer, respiratory diseases, infections, etc) and the remaining AF patients die from stroke or hemorrhage (about 6% each), or other causes.
Source: Trends in Cardiovascular Medicine - Category: Cardiology Authors: Source Type: research