To Study the Prevalence and Clinical Profile of Chronic Atrial Fibrillation in Hospitalized Patients

Objective: To determine the prevalence of chronic atrial fibrillation (AF) in a tertiary care center and to identify the clinical profile of chronic AF in hospitalized patients. Methods: All patients admitted to Mamata General Hospital in medicine/cardiology wards with chronic AF (persistent and permanent) during the period January 2012 to December 2012 were included into the study. The principal exclusion criteria were new onset AF and acute AF. Results: During the study period, 49 patients were admitted with chronic AF with an average of 45.44 years. A slight female dominance was seen with male: female ratio of 1:1.2. Half of the patients (51%) were below the age 50 years. The elderly age group comprised of only 16.3% of cases. The commonest presenting complaint was dyspnea followed by palpitation. Rheumatic valvular heart disease was seen more commonly in people below the age of 50 years whereas hypertension and ischemic heart disease after 50 years. Heart failure was the commonest condition associated with the chronic AF and was the cause of hospitalization in almost fifty percent of cases Conclusion: Chronic AF is still a cause of concern in India in people below the age of 50 years due to high prevalence of rheumatic fever inspite of advances in the medical field.