Atrial fibrillation is a common condition and occurs in otherwise healthy individuals or can be associated with a wide range of medical and/or cardiac conditions. For this reason, the management of patients with atrial fibrillation is complex and must be customized to individual patient circumstances.

In general, atrial fibrillation can be characterized by its frequency or persistence and management issues include rate control, rhythm control, and the prevention of thromboembolic complications of atrial fibrillation.

Note: This course is eligible for ACPE credit.

• To characterize patients as having isolated or recurrent atrial fibrillation and to correctly define the management issues associated with paroxysmal, persistent, or permanent atrial fibrillation.
• To define initial evaluation with respect to etiologies.
• To calculate an appropriate risk score for thromboembolic complications such as the CHA2DS2-VASc score.
• To enumerate the risks and benefits of “rhythm control” strategies for atrial fibrillation.