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Mingfang Li,1 Jiaojiao Shi,1 Ming Chu,1 Youmei Shen,1 Shimeng Zhang,1 Xingxing Sun,1 Hengli Zhang,1 Qing Yan,1 Jinlong Gong,2 Gregory YH Lip,3,4 Minglong Chen1,5 1Division of Cardiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, People’s Republic of China; 2Division of Cardiology, Jiangdu People’s Hospital, Yangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 3Liverpool Centre for Cardiovascular Science, University of Liverpool and Liverpool Heart & Chest Hospital, Liverpool, UK; 4Department of Clinical Medicine, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark; 5Division of Cardiology, the Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Minglong Chen, Division of Cardiology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing, 210029, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86-25-68303115, Fax +86-25-6813-6479, Email chenminglong@njmu.edu.cnAbstract: China has a large population of elderly in rural areas. Village doctors are acting as health-care gatekeepers for the rural elderly in China and are encouraged to provide more long-term care for patients with chronic diseases such as atrial fibrillation (AF). The data of AF registries from the rural elderly are limited. The present registry aims to provide contemporary data on the current AF-related health status of the rural elderly and the gaps in management of AF by village doctors. This study has two phases. The first phase is a cross-sectional study of AF screening in two rural towns of eastern China. All the residents aged ≥ 65 years are eligible and will be invited to attend a government-led health examination or an in-house AF screening program. The AF detection rate, the awareness of AF and the usage of oral anticoagulants and smartphones by AF patients, and the ability to diagnose and manage AF by village doctors will be assessed. Participants with AF detected in the first phase are eligible for the second phase