Nonpharmacological Therapies for Atrial Fibrillation

Whilst atrial fibrillation (AF) is the commonest sustained arrhythmia worldwide, it is also the arrhythmia of the elderly with a lifetime AF risk >20% in the over 80s [1]. We are thus on the brink of an AF pandemic, not only due to our ever-aging population but also as a consequence of our population becoming increasingly obese and diabetic. In the US alone, it is expected that the current AF prevalence of ∼5 million will at least double by the middle of the century [1]. This represents a huge drain on healthcare resources, not only from the direct management of the arrhythmia but from the management of the associated increased rates of stroke, heart failure, and dementia.