In line with the growing burden of modifiable cardiovascular risk factors in both
developed and developing countries, the prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF) has
increased exponentially, with this upward trajectory likely to continue in coming
decades [
[1]
]. Indeed, there is a growing body of evidence that modifiable risk factors such as
obesity, hypertension, physical inactivity, obstructive sleep apnoea, diabetes mellitus
and excessive alcohol consumption contribute to the development of the AF substrate,
leading to AF progression and recurrence; while targeting these risk factors has been
shown to improve sinus rhythm maintenance with reverse atrial remodelling [
2
,
3
,
4
]. The lifetime risk of developing AF is estimated at 37% in adults over the age of
55 years, although lower in those with a more favourable clinical risk profile, highlighting
the preventable nature of AF [
[5]
]. Notably, recent data has shown that AF is now the most common cause of cardiovascular
hospitalisation in Australia, outstripping both heart failure and myocardial infarction
[
[6]
]. As such, it is timely to ascertain the true burden of AF hospitalisations and evaluate
how much of this health care burden could potentially be lessened, to ameliorate the
burgeoning cost of this complex arrhythmia.Keywords
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© 2022 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Australian and New Zealand Society of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgeons (ANZSCTS) and the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand (CSANZ).
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- Thirty-Day Unplanned Readmissions Following Hospitalisation for Atrial Fibrillation in Australia and New ZealandHeart, Lung and CirculationVol. 31Issue 7
- PreviewAtrial fibrillation (AF) is a leading cause of hospitalisations, yet little is known about 30-day readmissions following discharge despite increasing policy focus on reducing readmissions. We assessed the rate, timing, causes and predictors of 30-day unplanned readmission following an acute and elective AF hospitalisation using population-wide data.
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