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Atrial fibrillation in a primary care practice: prevalence and management
1Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. nessa.bayer@primus.ca
Insights
This study found a high prevalence of atrial fibrillation (3.9%) in primary care, with 78.2% of patients receiving warfarin for stroke prevention, exceeding previous reports.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Primary Care Medicine
- Public Health
Background:
- Atrial fibrillation is a prevalent and serious cardiac arrhythmia.
- Understanding its prevalence and management in primary care is crucial for patient outcomes.
- This study addresses the need for data on atrial fibrillation prevalence and stroke prevention strategies in a primary care setting.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the prevalence of atrial fibrillation within a primary care population.
- To identify and quantify the treatments used for stroke prevention in patients with atrial fibrillation.
- To compare findings with existing literature on prevalence and treatment coverage.
Main Methods:
- A retrospective chart audit was conducted in a family medicine practice.
- The study focused on identifying patients diagnosed with atrial fibrillation.
- Key outcome measures included the prevalence of atrial fibrillation and the utilization of warfarin for stroke prevention.
Main Results:
- A total of 261 patients with atrial fibrillation were identified, representing an overall prevalence of 3.9%.
- Prevalence increased significantly in older populations, reaching 12.2% in patients aged 60 and over.
- Warfarin was prescribed to 78.2% of patients with atrial fibrillation for stroke prevention, a rate higher than previously reported.
Conclusions:
- The prevalence of atrial fibrillation in this primary care practice is higher than generally reported in the literature.
- Stroke prevention treatment coverage with warfarin in this population surpasses previous findings.
- These results highlight the importance of proactive management of atrial fibrillation in primary care.
Background:
Atrial fibrillation is a common serious cardiac arrhythmia. Knowing the prevalence of atrial fibrillation and documentation of medical management are important in the provision of primary care. This study sought to determine the prevalence of atrial fibrillation in a primary care population and to identify and quantify the treatments being used for stroke prevention in this group of patients.
Methods:
A prevalence study through chart audit was conducted in the family medicine practice at the Sunnybrook campus of the Sunnybrook and Women's College Health Sciences Centre. The main outcome measures were the prevalence of atrial fibrillation in our primary care practice and the use of warfarin for stroke prevention in this population.
Results:
261 patients in our practice have atrial fibrillation. The overall prevalence in our family practice unit is 3.9%. When considering patients aged 60 and over, the prevalence rises to 12.2%. 204 of our patients with atrial fibrillation (78.2%) are currently being treated with warfarin. Another 21 patients were previously treated and discontinued for a number of reasons. Of the 57 patients not currently treated with warfarin, 44 are treated with ASA, 2 with ticlopidine, and 11 are receiving no preventative treatment.
Conclusions:
The prevalence of atrial fibrillation in our practice is higher than the range of prevalence reported in the general literature. However, our coverage with warfarin treatment exceeds previous reports in the literature.