Health-related quality of life in patients newly diagnosed with atrial fibrillation

Introduction: Atrial fibrillation is the most common sustained cardiac rhythm disturbance encountered in clinical practice. Despite its high prevalence and the associated high number of hospital admissions, few studies document the actual impact of atrial fibrillation on the patient. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and to examine the impact of seriousness of illness on HRQOL in patients newly diagnosed with atrial fibrillation. Methods and results: A descriptive correlational and cross-sectional survey study included 81 subjects newly diagnosed with atrial fibrillation within 6 months prior to data collection through face-to-face interview by the Atrial Fibrillation Symptom Frequency and severity checklist (SCL) and the short form-36 health survey (SF-36). As the variables for HRQOL, subjects' perception of both physical health and mental health was poorer than that of general US population. The seriousness of illness had a significant inverse relationship with HRQOL, including both physical health and mental health. Conclusion: The findings of this study indicated that the HRQOL in patients newly diagnosed with atrial fibrillation was significantly impaired and the subjective seriousness of illness had a pivotal impact on HRQOL in atrial fibrillation.