OBJECTIVES: To evaluate and compare patient satisfaction in stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation (SPAF) in Europe. Interim results are presented to initiate discussions and guide analysis for the main survey. METHODS: A survey based on the Commonwealth Fund Survey (2008) for chronically ill adults is applied to patients with SPAF, with few disease-specific adjustments made. The survey is carried out with structured randomized anonymous telephone interviews in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and UK, screening for respondents with AF aged over 18. Total pilot sample size is 152 respondents, evenly divided per country. RESULTS: The pilot results indicate differences to other chronically ill patients and country variations. Mean age of respondents is 67, 50% female. Overall, 43% of the respondents are totally satisfied with their health care system (highest in the UK: 57%). Most frequent co-morbidities are hypertension (66%) and heart disease, including heart attack (53%) beside arthritis, depression, chronic lung problems, diabetes, cancer – with an average of 2,2 co-morbidities per respondent, regularly on 5,4 different prescriptions. Ten percent had a period when they were uninsured (highest with 20% in the UK) and 11% had problems with unpaid medication (highest in Germany with 33%) or refusal of payment by the insurance 9% (highest in France with 27%). Fifty-two percent were hospitalized during the last 2 years. Due to cost, 9% had a specific medical problem but did not visit a doctor and 9% skipped or did not get a medical test, treatment, or follow-up, recommended by a doctor. The respondent with family spent on average 667;- € (highest in UK: 1.357,- €) on medical treatment not covered by insurance. CONCLUSIONS: These interim survey results point to a patient population (SPAF) under challenging conditions requiring numerous resources. Future research with extended respondent numbers needs to be analyzed to allow robust and clear recommendations.