: The incidence and prevalence of AF have increased in recent years , although great variability still exists in Asian countries .
Variability in annual IS risk in patients with AF was apparent between hospital‐ and community‐based studies .
BACKGROUND : Our previous review reported great variability in the incidence and prevalence of atrial fibrillation ( AF ) in non‐Western cohorts , especially from Asian countries ; in recent years , epidemiologic studies on AF have been increasingly reported from Asia .
METHODS : The goal of this up date d systematic review was to present the current knowledge base of AF epidemiology in Asian countries since our previous review .
Incidence of Stroke or Systemic Embolism in Paroxysmal Versus Sustained Atrial Fibrillation: The Fushimi Atrial Fibrillation Registry
Background and Purpose — There is controversy on the relationship of the type of atrial fibrillation ( AF ) to stroke . Although several studies show that patients with paroxysmal AF ( PAF ) have a stroke risk similar to those with persistent or permanent AF , recent studies suggest that PAF is associated with a lower rate of stroke . Limited data on stroke risk associated with PAF are evident in Asian population s. Methods — The Registry Study of Atrial Fibrillation Patients in Fushimi-ku ( Fushimi AF Registry ) is a community-based survey of patients with AF in Fushimi-ku , Kyoto , Japan . Patients were categorized into 2 types of AF : PAF or sustained ( persistent or permanent ) AF . We compared clinical events between PAF  ( n=1588 ) and  sustained AF ( n=1716 ) . Results — Patients with PAF were younger , had less comorbidities , and received oral anticoagulants ( OAC ) less commonly . A lower risk of stroke/systemic embolism during follow-up period in the patients with PAF was consistently observed ( non-OAC users : hazard ratio , 0.45 ; 95 % confidence intervals , 0.27–0.75 ; P<0.01 and OAC users : hazard ratio , 0.59 ; 95 % confidence interval , 0.35–0.93 ; P=0.03 ) . The composite end point of stroke/systemic embolism/all-cause mortality was also lower in PAF , whether among OAC users ( hazard ratio , 0.77 ; 95 % confidence interval , 0.59–0.99 ; P=0.046 ) or non-OAC users ( hazard ratio , 0.59 ; 95 % confidence interval , 0.46–0.75 ; P<0.01 ) . On multivariate analysis , PAF was an independent predictor of lower stroke/systemic embolism risk . Conclusions — In this large cohort of Japanese patients with AF , PAF was independently associated with lower incidence of stroke/systemic embolism than sustained AF . This may aid decision making for anticoagulation , especially in those patients with AF with few stroke risk factors . Clinical Trial Registration — URL : http://www.umin.ac.jp/ctr/index.htm . Unique identifier : UMIN000005834
: The incidence and prevalence of AF have increased in recent years , although great variability still exists in Asian countries .
Variability in annual IS risk in patients with AF was apparent between hospital‐ and community‐based studies .
BACKGROUND : Our previous review reported great variability in the incidence and prevalence of atrial fibrillation ( AF ) in non‐Western cohorts , especially from Asian countries ; in recent years , epidemiologic studies on AF have been increasingly reported from Asia .
METHODS : The goal of this up date d systematic review was to present the current knowledge base of AF epidemiology in Asian countries since our previous review .