Quality of Life in Atrial Fibrillation: Measurement Tools and Impact of Interventions

Abstract

QoL in AF. Quality of life (QoL) is of central importance in atrial fibrillation as both a treatment goal and an endpoint in the evaluation of new therapies. QoL appears to be impaired in the majority of patients with AF. A number of interventions for AF have been shown to improve QoL, including pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic rate control, antiarrhythmic drugs, and nonpharmacologic rhythm control strategies. This paper will review the rationale, design, strengths, and limitations of the questionnaires most commonly used to assess QoL in AF studies, and present QoL outcomes from major studies of AF interventions.

2012 HRS/EHRA/ECAS Expert Consensus Statement on Catheter and Surgical Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation: Recommendations for Patient Selection, Procedural Techniques, Patient Management and Follow-up, Definitions, Endpoints, and Research Trial Design

“…47,63,1088 These measures can provide a more global reflection of symptom change, symptomatic arrhythmia burden, and the difference between actual and desired health and function than more focused endpoints of rhythm status at specific points in time. Generic tools, such as the SF-36 health survey, 1089 which is applicable to a broad range of disease states and health conditions, and disease-specific questionnaires 1090, 1091 developed to assess symptom burden in patients with arrhythmias, have been most widely employed.…”

Improvements in Symptoms and Quality of Life in Patients With Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation Treated With Radiofrequency Catheter Ablation Versus Antiarrhythmic Drugs

“…3,4 A variety of treatment strategies, including rate control alone, have been shown to improve symptoms and QOL in patients with AF. 5 Despite the completion of a number of previous comparative trials, substantial uncertainty persists about whether 1 treatment strategy is clearly better than another on QOL end points. 6 -10 Radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFA) has emerged as an important option for patients with AF whose rhythm and symptoms are not well controlled with initial guidelinerecommended treatments.…”

Development and Validation of the Atrial Fibrillation Effect on QualiTy-of-Life (AFEQT) Questionnaire in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation

“…Although some symptom scales exist, there is currently no validated, comprehensive, disease-specific measure to quantify the impact of AF and its treatment on the full spectrum of patients' health status, including their symptoms, function, and QoL among English speakers. [3][4][5][6][7][8] …”