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Atrial Fibrillation

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Clinical Approach to Sudden Cardiac Death Syndromes

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Abstract

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is defined as an unpredictable activation of the atria, causing an irregular ventricular response. It is characterized electrocardiographically by irregular fibrillatory waves, usually associated with an irregular ventricular response, which manifests clinically as an irregular pulse. AF is the most common sustained rhythm disorder or arrhythmia encountered in clinical practice with a prevalence of 1% in the general population, which increases with age to about 6% in people over the age of 65,1-3 and it is responsible for over one-third of all cardioembolic episodes.4

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cardiovascular Genetics Center, School of Medicine, Universitat de Girona, Girona, Spain

    Oscar Campuzano

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  1. Oscar Campuzano
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  2. Ramon Brugada
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  1. Masonic Medical Research Laboratory, Bleecker St. 2150, Utica, 13501, U.S.A.

    Ramon Brugada

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© 2010 Springer-Verlag London

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Campuzano, O., Brugada, R. (2010). Atrial Fibrillation. In: Brugada, R. (eds) Clinical Approach to Sudden Cardiac Death Syndromes. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84882-927-5_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84882-927-5_14

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  • Online ISBN: 978-1-84882-927-5

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