Role of general practitioners in the integrated management of atrial fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is an important and highly prevalent arrhythmia that increases the risk of stroke and heart failure. It is also associated with palpitation, fatigue and chest tightness. Despite the development of treatment methods such as non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant, left atrial appendage closure and catheter ablation, the all-cause mortality has not been significantly improved, and the disability rate is still on the rise under traditional treatment modes of AF. AF poses a significant burden to patients and healthcare systems globally. The integrated management of AF has been proposed and proved to significantly reduce hospitalisation and mortality. Integrated AF management requires a coordinated multidisciplinary team composed of general practitioners, stroke specialists, cardiologists, cardiac surgeons and pharmacists to manage patients with AF synthetically, comprehensively and continuously. In the primary prevention of AF, general practitioners can screen and evaluate the risk factors, provide health education to residents and promote a healthy lifestyle and diet, so as to control or eliminate the impact of risk factors on AF. In the secondary prevention of AF, the early detection, diagnosis and treatment of AF can be achieved through routine physical examination and outpatient follow-up. For patients with AF, general practitioners can prevent stroke, heart failure, bleeding and other complications through timely and effective anticoagulation, symptom control with rate or rhythm control treatment and monitoring. From the perspective of integrated management of AF, this article analyses the role of general practitioners in the prevention of AF and provides the basis for the process of general practitioners in the management of AF.