04. Can AF be life threatening?

AF is a major cause of morbidity and mortality, increasing the risk of death, congestive heart failure and embolic phenomena, including stroke.
• The mortality rate of patients with AF is about double that of patients with normal sinus rhythm and is linked to the severity of underlying heart disease
• AF aggravates heart failure and in turn heart failure promotes AF
• AF is associated with an increase in the rate of ischemic strokes with 1 in every 6 strokes occurring in a patient with AF.