engleski

Stroke and atrial fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation (AF) and its consequences are one of today’s main epidemiologic concerns. 4.5 to 6 million Europeans and 2.3 to 5.1 million Americans are affected by AF which is the most common sustained arrhythmia in the general population(1–5).AF is the strongest risk factor for stroke but also increases the risk of heart failure, dementia and death(2, 5). AF has a strong negative impact on patients’ quality of life and causes large socioeconomic costs where more than half are related to complications of AF(6).The prevalence of AF is expected to increase by at least 50% within the next 20 years(7).The relationship between atrial fibrillation and stroke, the prevention of stroke and the acute treatment of stroke due to atrial fibrillation are discussed in this review.

atrial fibrillation; risk factor; stroke; dementia

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