The National Collaborating Centre for Chronic Conditions Funded to produce guidelines for the NHS by NICE ATRIAL FIBRILLATION National clinical guideline for management in primary and secondary care Published by Atrial fibrillation Acknowledgements The Guideline Development Group would like to thank the following people for their valuable input during the development of this guideline: Mr Steven Barnes, Mrs Susan Clifford, Mr Rob Grant, Dr Bernard Higgins, Ms Jane Ingham, Ms Ester Klaeijsen, Dr Ian Lockhart, Ms Louise Martin, Ms Jill Parnham. Mission statement The Royal College of Physicians plays a leading role in the delivery of high quality patient care by setting standards of medical practice and promoting clinical excellence. We provide physicians in the United Kingdom and overseas with education, training and support throughout their careers. As an independent body representing over 20,000 Fellows and Members worldwide, we advise and work with government, the public, patients and other professions to improve health and healthcare. The National Collaborating Centre for Chronic Conditions The National Collaborating Centre for Chronic Conditions (NCC-CC) is a collaborative, multi-professional centre undertaking commissions to develop clinical guidance for the NHS in England and Wales. The NCC-CC was established in 2001. It is an independent body, housed within Clinical Standards Department at the Royal College of Physicians of London. The NCC-CC is funded by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) to undertake commissions for national clinical guidelines on an annual rolling programme. Citation for this document National Collaborating Centre for Chronic Conditions. Atrial fibrillation: national clinical guideline for management in primary and secondary care. London: Royal College of Physicians, 2006. Copyright All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form (including photocopying or storing it in any medium by electronic means and whether or not transiently or incidentally to some other use of this publication) without the written permission of the copyright owner. Applications for the copyright owner’s written permission to reproduce any part of this publication should be addressed to the publisher. Copyright © 2006 Royal College of Physicians of London ISBN 1 86016 282 7 ROYAL COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS 11 St Andrews Place, London NW1 4LE www.rcplondon.ac.uk Registered charity No 210508 Typeset by Dan-Set Graphics, Telford, Shropshire Printed in Great Britain by The Lavenham Press Ltd, Sudbury, Suffolk Contents Members of the Guideline Development Group vi Preface viii List of abbreviations ix DEVELOPMENT OF THE GUIDELINE 1Introduction 1.1 Definition 3 1.2 Classification 3 1.3 Epidemiology 4 1.4 Prognosis 7 1.5 Guideline structure 7 1.6 How to use this guideline 8 2 Methodology 2.1 About the guideline 9 2.2 Guideline development 10 2.3 Disclaimer 15 2.4 Funding 15 3 Key messages of the guideline 3.1 Priorities for implementation 17 3.2 AF care pathway 18 3.3 Treatment strategy decision tree 18 3.4 Audit criteria 19 3.5 Areas for future research 20 THE GUIDELINE 4 Identification and diagnosis 4.1 Presenting symptoms/pulse palpitation 25 4.2 Electrocardiography 27 4.3 Ambulatory ECG recording 29 4.4 Echocardiography 31 5Cardioversion 5.1 Electrical versus pharmacological cardioversion 35 5.2 Pharmacological cardioversion 37 5.3 Electrical cardioversion with concomitant antiarrhythmic drugs 40 5.4 Transoesophageal echocardiography-guided cardioversion 44 5.5 Cardioversion treatment algorithm 47 iii Atrial fibrillation 6Treatment of persistent AF 6.1 Rate control versus rhythm control 49 6.2 Rhythm control for persistent AF 52 6.3 Antithrombotic therapy for persistent AF 55 6.4 Rhythm-control treatment algorithm for persistent AF 58 7 Treatment for permanent AF 7.1 Rate control for permanent AF 59 7.2 Antithrombotic therapy for permanent AF 61 7.3 Rate-control treatment algorithm for permanent AF 66 8Treatment for paroxysmal AF 8.1 Rhythm control for paroxysmal AF 67 8.2 Treatment strategy for paroxysmal AF 71 8.3 Antithrombotic therapy for paroxysmal AF 73 8.4 Rhythm-control treatment algorithm for paroxysmal AF 75 9Treatment for acute-onset AF 9.1 Acute AF in haemodynamically unstable patients 77 9.2 Antithrombotic therapy for acute-onset AF 80 9.3 Haemodynamically unstable AF treatment algorithm 82 10 Postoperative AF 10.1 Drug prophylaxis for postoperative AF 83 10.2 Treatment for postoperative AF 88 11 Antithrombotic therapy 11.1 Initiating antithrombotic therapy 91 11.2 Antithrombotic therapy in acute stroke patients 92 11.3 Antithrombotic therapy following a stroke or TIA 94 11.4 Antithrombotic therapy for asymptomatic AF 96 11.5 Risks of long-term anticoagulation 96 11.6 Risk factors for stroke and thromboembolism 100 11.7 Stroke risk stratification algorithm 104 11.8 The cost effectiveness of oral anticoagulation as thromboprophylaxis 105 12 Monitoring and referral 12.1 Anticoagulation self-monitoring 107 12.2 Follow-up post cardioversion 110 12.3 Referral 114 iv Contents APPENDICES Appendix A: Health economics modelling 121 Appendix B: Stroke risk stratification models 123 Appendix C: Clinical questions and search strategies 125 Appendix D: Drug classification and licensing 129 Appendix E: Glossary of terms 131 Appendix F: Stakeholders 145 Appendix G: Scope 149 REFERENCES 155 v Members of the Guideline Development Group Dr Michael Rudolf, NCC-CC (Chair) Consultant Respiratory Physician, Ealing Hospital NHS Trust Professor Gregory Lip, NCC-CC (Clinical Advisor) Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine, University Department of Medicine, City Hospital, Birmingham Mrs Lina Bakhshi, NCC-CC Information Scientist, Royal College of Physicians of London Professor John Camm, British Cardiac Society Consultant Cardiologist, St. George’s Hospital Medical School, London Dr Mark Davis, Primary Care Cardiovascular Society General Practitioner, Moorfield House Surgery, Leeds Mr Richard Deacon, Royal College of Nursing Senior Charge Nurse, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust Dr Richard Dewar, Royal College of Physicians of London Consultant Physician in General & Elderly Care Medicine, Pontypridd and Rhondda NHS Trust Dr Martin Fotherby, British Geriatrics Society Senior Lecturer in Age and Stroke Medicine, University of Leicester Dr Jane Fisher, NCC-CC Project Manager, Royal College of Physicians of London Mrs Bernadette Ford, NCC-CC Information Scientist, Royal College of Physicians of London Dr Michael Hughes, NCC-CC Research Fellow/Project Manager, Royal College of Physicians of London Professor Lalit Kalra, King’s College London, invited as an expert in stroke medicine to attend GDG meetings 3, 4, 11 and 14 Consultant Stroke Physician, King’s College Hospital NHS Trust, London Mr Simon Kendall, Society of Cardiothoracic Surgeons, invited as an expert in cardiothoracic surgery to attend GDG meetings 4 and 7 Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon, James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough Dr Clifford Mann, British Association for Emergency Medicine Consultant in Accident and Emergency Medicine, Taunton and Somerset NHS Trust Dr Duncan McRobbie, Royal Pharmaceutical Society Principal Clinical Pharmacist, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, London vi Members of the Guideline Development Group Mr Leo Nherera, NCC-CC Health Economist, Royal College of Physicians of London Dr Stephen Rogers, Royal College of General Practitioners Senior Lecturer in Primary Care, University College, London Dr Peter Rose, invited as an expert in haematology to attend GDG meetings 3 and 4 Consultant Haematologist, South Warwickshire General Hospitals NHS Trust Mr Peter Rose, The Stroke Association Patient/Carer Representative, Information Service Organiser for the East of England, The Stroke Association Mrs Fiona Sayers, Royal College of Nursing Nurse Practitioner, Frimley Park Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Surrey Mr David Smith, British Cardiac Patients Association Patient/Carer Representative, Trustee, British Cardiac Patients Association Dr Neil Sulke, British Cardiac Society Consultant Cardiologist, East Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust, Eastbourne vii Preface The association of an irregular pulse with morbidity has been recognised since antiquity, and as long ago as 1628 William Harvey observed cardiac irregularity directly in animals. The modern emphasis on electrical demonstration of atrial fibrillation (AF) dates back a mere 100 years to the first publication by William Einthoven of an electrocardiogram showing the abnormality. Even the treatment of this disorder has a long and venerable history: William Withering published An account of the foxglove and some of its medical uses in 1785, and digoxin, the active extract of his remedy, remains in use today. A patient developing AF in 2006 is faced with a wide array of potential therapies. A number of drugs can be employed to control the rapid heart rate, which is often an intrinsic part of AF; attempts can be made to restore sinus rhythm using drugs or direct current electrical shock; and an increasing number of surgical procedures are described. Despite the wide number of options available, there is an acknowledgement that AF is too frequently treated with the almost automatic prescription of monotherapy with digoxin: this is still a useful drug over 200 years on but the best option for only a minority of patients. This failure to appreciate or implement proper treatment options in such a common condition makes AF an excellent topic for a