What patients want and need to know about atrial fibrillation

Abstract

Clinicians in a variety of settings are called upon to care for patients diagnosed with atrial fibrillation (AF), a common chronic condition that affects up to 3 million people in the USA. Evidence-based guidelines provide clinicians with direction for treatment of AF, but recommended content for educating patients and counseling about self-management of AF is not included in published guidelines. When patients believe they have a good understanding of AF they report fewer symptoms, perceive greater control over AF, and attribute less emotional distress to AF. Thus, providing patients with information about AF and how to manage it is important for promoting positive outcomes. The purpose of this article is to offer evidence-based recommendations for content to include in self-management education and counseling for patients with AF. Approaches for educating and counseling patients related to AF pathophysiology, the nature of AF (its cause, consequences, and trajectory), treatments, action plans, and symptom management, and managing the psychosocial challenges of living with AF, are discussed.

Living on a knife edge-the daily struggle of coping with symptomatic cardiac arrhythmias

“…Increased emotional distress and feelings of uncertainty related to arrhythmia have been reported by others [26, 28]; however, our study also found that some patient felt that their arrhythmia cause a negative impact on family life and led to feelings of isolation, which has been poorly described in previous literature. Our study found 40 % of participants reported a perceived negative impact on family and close friends due to their condition, often leading to feelings of guilt and further isolation for the patient as they felt compelled to withdraw from some family and social occasions.…”

2016 ESC Guidelines for the management of atrial fibrillation developed in collaboration with EACTS

“…Poznanie punktu widzenia chorych, a także ich nastawienia do AF i jego leczenia może umożliwić poprawę leczenia AF oraz jego wyników [1017]. Obejmuje to odpowiednio dostosowaną edukację pacjentów koncentrującą się na chorobie, rozpoznawaniu objawów, leczeniu, poddającym się modyfikacji czynnikom ryzyka AF, a także aktywnościach związanych z samoleczeniem [1018,1019].…”

2016 ESC Guidelines for the management of atrial fibrillation developed in collaboration with EACTS

“…1017 This includes tailored patient education focusing on the disease, symptom recognition, therapy, modifiable risk factors for AF, and self-management activities. 1018,1019 14.3 Self-management and shared decision-making Self-management is primarily focused on tasks to manage the condition, such as adhering to a therapeutic regimen or modifying behaviour (e.g. resulting in smoking cessation or weight loss).…”