Study of Atrial Fibrillation in Rheumatic and Non-Rheumatic Heart Disease Patients in Tertiary Care Centre

Atrial fibrillation is the most common sustained arrhythmia and is increasing as a major public health concern worldwide. Although its prevalence is set to increase owing to the increase in the elderly population, incidence is higher in countries with a high prevalence of Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD), contributing to significant morbidity and mortality in a relatively young population. A cross sectional study of 126 samples, selected by non-probability convenience sampling method and who met the designed set of criteria, was conducted. In this study, RHD was the major etiological factor for Atrial Fibrillation in 79.37 % of cases. Among RHD cases, 66 % were females and 34 % were males. There was no significant correlation between variables as Pgreater than0.05. In spite of increasing prevalence of various other cardiovascular risk factors and comorbid conditions, rheumatic heart disease, is a major etiological factor of Atrial Fibrillation in this study, especially in females.