Who gets atrial fibrillation?
1-2% of the U.S. population (approximately 2.5 million people) is in atrial fibrillation and up to 20% will experience it during their lifetime. The incidence of atrial fibrillation rises sharply with increasing age. Often the exact cause of atrial fibrillation in any given patient is difficult to determine, but risk factors include hypertension, diabetes, obesity, alcohol use, as well as any “structural” abnormalities of the heart, such as valvular heart disease, coronary artery disease, prior myocardial infarction, or congestive heart failure. There are also some reversible causes of atrial fibrillation, such as thyroid abnormality, pneumonia, pulmonary embolism, recent heart surgery, and in these cases atrial fibrillation may resolve with treatment of the underlying cause.
