Edinburgh Napier University

  Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia. AF increases the risk of stroke 5-7 fold, and strokes are generally severe or fatal. People with AF have multiple cardiovascular (CV) risk factors, yet few programs have tested if comprehensive CV risk reduction is of benefit in improving CV risk profiles and quality of life in AF.
Methods: 17 people with AF admitted to a cardiac ward were offered a brief (3-month) telephone-based intervention. Multiple cardiovascular risk factors were measured at baseline and 3-months. Participants were also invited to take part in a talk-aloud evaluation of validated quality of life measures.
Results: Nine men and eight women participated, the mean age was 62(14) years. Objective measures showed trends towards improvement in lipid profile and increases in physical activity (Table). Participants rated the program highly. More severe symptoms were predictive of poorer quality of life, however older people were more likely to be accepting of symptoms.
Conclusion: A brief patient-centred intervention is feasible and acceptable in participants with AF and the intervention improves CV risk factors.