July 13, 2026Circulation2,765 citations
View Full Paper2019 AHA/ACC/HRS Focused Update of the 2014 AHA/ACC/HRS Guideline for the Management of Patients With Atrial Fibrillation: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines and the Heart Rhythm Society in Collaboration With the Society of Thoracic Surgeons
Key Result
The 2019 AHA/ACC/HRS focused update provides revised clinical practice guidelines for the management of patients with atrial fibrillation.
Key Points
- To present a focused update of the clinical practice guidelines for the management of atrial fibrillation.
- Expert writing group composed of leading cardiologists and heart rhythm specialists.
- Review of existing literature and clinical practices regarding atrial fibrillation management.
- Collaboration among multiple cardiovascular organizations.
- Updated recommendations on anticoagulation therapy in atrial fibrillation.
- New strategies for rhythm control and rate control management.
- Guidance on the integration of surgical options for patients with atrial fibrillation.
PICO
P
Population
Atrial Fibrillation
Abstract
Writing Group Members* Craig T. January, MD, PhD, FACC (Chair), L. Samuel Wann, MD, MACC, FAHA (Vice Chair), Hugh Calkins, MD, FACC, FAHA, FHRS,* Lin Y. Chen, MD, MS, FACC, FAHA, FHRS, Joaquin E. Cigarroa, MD, FACC, Joseph C. Cleveland Jr., MD, FACC,*,x Patrick T. Ellinor, MD, PhD,* Michael D. Ezekowitz, MBChB, DPhil, FACC, FAHA,*,k Michael E. Field, MD, FACC, FAHA, FHRS,k Karen L. Furie, MD, MPH, FAHA,k Paul A. Heidenreich, MD, FACC, FAHA,{ Katherine T. Murray, MD, FACC, FAHA, FHRS,k Julie B. Shea, MS, RNCS, FHRS,*,k Cynthia M. Tracy, MD, FAHA,k Clyde W. Yancy, MD, MACC, FAHAk
Expert Takes7 quotes
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“This is a really important shift. It's recognition that female sex is not as important a risk factor [for AF-associated stroke] as once was thought. This will change the number of women with AF who go on anticoagulation. We have been struggling with the notion that all women 65 or older with AF had to be on an anticoagulant. Now a clinician has more leeway. In general, patients with AF remain underanticoagulated, but this clarifies practice and brings us in line with the European guidelines.”
Hugh Calkins, Professor of medicine, Johns Hopkins MedicineJohns Hopkins Medicineauto_pipelineView source