Economic Impact of Atrial Fibrillation on Hospitalization Outcomes of Acute Heart Failure in the United States

Abstract

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained cardiac arrhythmia and it remains a significant cause of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, especially that arising from heart failure (HF).1,2 AF imposes a significant burden of cost on the healthcare system through several pathways, including, but not limited to, costs of AF-related hospitalizations, costs of outpatient AF treatments, and costs of managing conditions when AF is a secondary diagnosis during a hospital admission such as acute HF.3,4 The data about AF's economic impact with specific reference to HF hospitalizations is limited, thus, is the main focus of this study.