GARFIELD-AF Registry

GARFIELD-AF registry

GARFIELD-AF was the largest prospective registry of patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation

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About Atrial Fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is an irregular heart beat that occurs due to abnormal electrical activity in the heart. It is the most common cause of cardiac arrhythmia, affecting approximately 2% of the overall population and around 10% of those over the age of 75.

The following section is about non-valvular atrial fibrillation

Patients with non-valvular AF can suffer from palpitations, light-headedness, shortness of breath and chest pain, or they can be asymptomatic. In patients with non-valvular AF, the heart beat can be normalised using medication (e.g. beta-blockers or calcium channel blockers) or a controlled electric shock. Severe cases may require catheter ablation, where a wire is fed into the heart tissue.

Patients with AF are at increased risk of clot formation, due to the reduced movement of blood in the heart. If a clot dislodges and travels to the brain, this can result in a stroke. Patients with AF have around a fivefold higher risk of stroke than people with AF. Stroke patients with AF are also likely to have a worse outcome than stroke patients without AF, in terms of stroke severity, recurrences, functional deficits, cardiac complications and mortality. Patients with AF are therefore often given anticoagulants (e.g. warfarin) to reduce their stroke risk.

Atrial fibrillation usually occurs in patients with other heart or lung conditions, but can also occur in otherwise healthy people.

Atrial fibrillation can occur in presence of the various types of valvular heart diseases (for example, in patients with mitral stenosis or mechanical prosthetic valves); although AF caused by valvular heart diseases is relatively rare. The term ‘non-valvular AF’ is used to describe the majority of cases where rhythm disturbance is not associated with these problems. Patients recruited into GARFIELD-AF had a new diagnosis of ‘non-valvular’ atrial fibrillation.

Prevalence of atrial fibrillation

Up to 2% of the world’s population has AF, with around 8.8 million people in the European Union, 5-6.1 million people in the United States and 8 million people in China suffering from the disease. It is estimated that its prevalence will at least double by 2050 as the global population ages.

Risk factors for non-valvular atrial fibrillation

The likelihood of developing non-valvular AF increases with age. About 70% of AF cases occur in patients between the ages of 65 and 85 years. Approximately 1 in 6 patients with AF over 75 years of age are women.

Recruitment into GARFIELD-AF is now complete.

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About

About GARFIELD-AF

GARFIELD-AF is a pioneering, independent outcomes research initiative led by an international... [read more]

27 Nov 19
About

Our Governance

The Steering Committee, supported by the National Coordinator Council, provides global leadership... [read more]

15 Sep 17

Global status

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Total patients 57,262
Recruitment Recruitment closed
Follow-up
Study end: 2018

Contact Us

To find out more about GARFIELD-AF, please contact the Thrombosis Research Institute

info@tri-london.ac.uk Contact Us

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Funding

The GARFIELD-AF registry was funded by an unrestricted research grant from Bayer AG, and the ongoing work is supported by the Thrombosis Research Institute.

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    Contact Us

      To find out more about GARFIELD-AF, please contact the Thrombosis Research Institute

      E: garfield@tri-london.ac.uk
      T: 0203 198 9947