Etiological Profile and Clinical Presentation of Patients with Atrial Fibrillation from a Rural Area of Bihar

Objectives: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained cardiac arrhythmia encountered in clinical practice. This study was conducted to find the etiological and clinical profile of persistent and permanent AF patients from rural Bihar. Methods: This observational hospital based study was carried amongst indoor patients of AF of Department of Medicine, Darbhanga Medical College, Bihar. Data analysis was done using SPSS 14.0 version software. Results were presented using percentages Results: Out of 66 patients of AF, majority of patients were aged between 51-60 years and were males. Valvular heart disease was found to be the most common cause of atrial fibrillation while palpitation was the most common presenting complaint encountered. Nearly 62.1% patients had their left atrial size more than 3.5 cm. Mitral stenosis was noted as most common cause of enlarged left atrium in 47% cases. About half of patients had their left ventricular ejection fraction < 50%. Conclusions: This article has provided many insights on potential risk factors for the occurrence of atrial fibrillation and various presenting features of patients with atrial fibrillation. This would help in early diagnosis and prompt treatment of patients with AF especially in rural areas which remains a challenging problem. [National J of Med Res 2012; 2(2.000): 124-127]