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Aims: Incorporating patient-reported outcomes (PROs) into routine care of atrial fibrillation (AF) enables direct integration of symptoms, function, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) into practice. We report our initial experience with a system-wide PRO initiative among AF patients.Methods and Results: All patients with AF in our practice undergo PRO assessment with the Toronto AF Severity Scale (AFSS), and generic PROs, prior to electrophysiology clinic visits. We describe the implementation, feasibility, and results of clinic-based, electronic AF PRO collection, and compare AF-specific and generic HRQoL assessments. From October 2016 to February 2019, 1586 unique AF patients initiated 2379 PRO assessments, 2145 of which had all PRO measures completed (90%). The median completion time for all PRO measures per visit was 7.3 min (1st, 3rd quartiles: 6, 10). Overall, 38% of patients were female (n = 589), mean age was 68 (SD 12) years, and mean CHA2DS2-VASc score was 3.8 (SD 2.0). The mean AFSS symptom score was 8.6 (SD 6.6, 1st, 3rd quartiles: 3, 13), and the full range of values was observed (0, 35). Generic PROs of physical function, general health, and depression were impacted at the most severe quartiles of AF symptom score (P < 0.0001 for each vs. AFSS quartile).Conclusion: Routine clinic-based, PRO collection for AF is feasible in clinical practice and patient time investment was acceptable. Disease-specific AF PROs add value to generic HRQoL instruments. Further research into the relationship between PROs, heart rhythm, and AF burden, as well as PRO-guided management, is necessary to optimize PRO utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Severity of left atrial (LA) fibrosis is a strong predictor of atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation success and has been associated with a history of stroke, hypertension, and heart failure (HF). However, it is unclear whether more severe LA fibrosis independently increases the risk of major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) among those with AF.Objectives: The goal of this study was to evaluate the occurrence and frequency of MACCE by strata of LA fibrosis severity in patients with AF.Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of 1,228 patients with AF who underwent late gadolinium enhancement (LGE)-cardiac magnetic resonance imaging to quantify LA fibrosis severity between January 2007 and June 2015. Patients were stratified according to Utah stage of LA LGE criteria, and observed for the occurrence of MACCE, which included a composite of stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA), myocardial infarction, acute decompensated HF, or cardiovascular death. Disease risk score (DRS) stratification was used to control for between-group differences in baseline characteristics and risk.Results: During follow-up, 62 strokes or TIAs, 42 myocardial infarctions, 156 HF events, and 38 cardiovascular deaths occurred. In DRS stratified analysis, the hazard ratio comparing patients with stage IV versus stage I LA LGE was 1.67 (95% confidence interval: 1.01 to 2.76) for the composite MACCE outcome. The only individual component of the MACCE outcome to remain significantly associated with advanced LGE following DRS stratification was stroke or TIA (hazard ratio: 3.94; 95% confidence interval: 1.72 to 8.98).Conclusions: This retrospective analysis demonstrated that more severe LA LGE is associated with increased MACCE risk, driven primarily by increased risk of stroke or TIA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Incorporating patient-reported outcomes (PROs) into routine care of atrial fibrillation (AF) enables direct integration of symptoms, function, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) into practice. We report our initial experience with a system-wide PRO initiative among AF patients., Methods and Results: All patients with AF in our practice undergo PRO assessment with the Toronto AF Severity Scale (AFSS), and generic PROs, prior to electrophysiology clinic visits. We describe the implementation, feasibility, and results of clinic-based, electronic AF PRO collection, and compare AF-specific and generic HRQoL assessments. From October 2016 to February 2019, 1586 unique AF patients initiated 2379 PRO assessments, 2145 of which had all PRO measures completed (90%). The median completion time for all PRO measures per visit was 7.3 min (1st, 3rd quartiles: 6, 10). Overall, 38% of patients were female (n = 589), mean age was 68 (SD 12) years, and mean CHA2DS2-VASc score was 3.8 (SD 2.0). The mean AFSS symptom score was 8.6 (SD 6.6, 1st, 3rd quartiles: 3, 13), and the full range of values was observed (0, 35). Generic PROs of physical function, general health, and depression were impacted at the most severe quartiles of AF symptom score (P < 0.0001 for each vs. AFSS quartile)., Conclusion: Routine clinic-based, PRO collection for AF is feasible in clinical practice and patient time investment was acceptable. Disease-specific AF PROs add value to generic HRQoL instruments. Further research into the relationship between PROs, heart rhythm, and AF burden, as well as PRO-guided management, is necessary to optimize PRO utilization., (Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. © The Author(s) 2019. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)