Key result
Structural barriers impede guideline-concordant atrial fibrillation care across Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, and Singapore.
Why the study?
AF prevalence is rising and constitutes a substantial burden of stroke, heart failure, hospitalisation, and cardiovascular mortality across the Western Pacific region.
Addressing structural barriers in atrial fibrillation management across the Western Pacific region requires system-level transformation, including updated guidelines, digital infrastructure, and integrated care models.
More than 52 million people were living with atrial fibrillation (AF) in 2021, and prevalence continues to rise with population ageing, increasing cardiometabolic disease, and improved detection.1 AF is now a leading contributor to stroke, heart failure, hospitalisation, and cardiovascular mortality worldwide, with a particularly substantial burden across the Western Pacific region.2 The four countries examined in this Commentary—Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, and Singapore—all fall within the World Health Organization Western Pacific region, the geographic scope of this journal.
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Ong et al. (2026) conducted a review in Atrial fibrillation. Structural barriers across Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, and Singapore limit the delivery of guideline-concordant atrial fibrillation care, highlighting the need for system-level transformation.
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