Atrial Fibrillation Association

LONDON, December 5, 2011 - •Atrial Fibrillation (AF) will affect 1 in 4 people in the UK and increases the risk of stroke by nearly 500%; the number of AF patients in the UK is expected to more than double by 2050 •AF is vastly under-treated, only 18 per cent of UK patients with AF receive treatment that adequately reduces their elevated risk of stroke •Adherence to current treatment guidelines and routine pulse checks in primary care could prevent many of the 12,000 AF-related strokes experienced in the UK every year Urgent, major improvements are needed in the detection, diagnosis and management of atrial fibrillation (AF, a common irregular heartbeat) to avoid a stroke epidemic in the UK, according to a major new report from the Atrial Fibrillation Association (AFA) and AntiCoagulation Europe UK (ACE UK), published today at www.preventaf-strokecrisis.org.