Optimisation of atrial fibrillation care - management strategies and quality measures.

Atrial fibrillation is the most common cardiac arrhythmia and a leading cause of mortality and morbidity. Optimal management of atrial fibrillation is paramount to improve quality of life and reduce the impact on health and social care services. Owing to its strong associations with other cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular comorbidities, a holistic management approach to atrial fibrillation care is advocated, but this is yet to be clearly defined by international clinical guidelines. This ambiguity has prompted us to review the available clinical evidence on different management strategies to optimise atrial fibrillation care in the context of performance and quality measures, which can be used to objectively assess standards of care.