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Editor's Correspondence
Dec 10/24, 2012

The Burden of Hospitalization for Atrial Fibrillation

Author Affiliations

Author Affiliation: Department of Medicine, West Virginia University–Charleston Division, Charleston Area Medical Center, Charleston.

Arch Intern Med. 2012;172(22):1770. doi:10.1001/2013.jamainternmed.93

The recent Research Letter by Wong et al1 reported that hospitalizations in Australia for atrial fibrillation (AF) exceeded those for heart failure. I suspect that the same may be true in the United States. The Canadian 2010 Guidelines2 support early emergency department discharge for many stable patients presenting with AF. Spontaneous conversion to sinus rhythm was reported in 68% of those with AF of less than 72 hours' duration.3

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