OBJECTIVES

: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia. AF has a great impact on health-related quality of life (HRQoL). However, little is known about the relationship between AF symptom burden (AF-SB) and HrQoL. Thus, the aim of this research was to assess the influence of disease-specific symptoms on the HrQoL in patients with AF.

METHODS

: AF patients were consecutively enrolled by randomly selected GPs/outpatient cardiologists in Germany, Sweden, and Switzerland. Patients were phone-interviewed with regard to 7 different AF symptoms (based on EHRA classification system) and HrQoL (SF-12). Association between SF-12 physical/mental scores (PCS12/MCS12; higher scores indicating higher HrQoL) and AF-SB was assessed by using univariate comparisons as well as multivariate regression models explaining .

RESULTS

: CONCLUSIONS

: Generic HrQoL as measured by the SF-12 and AF symptoms are closely associated with each other. By reducing severity/frequency of AF symptoms, the HrQoL of AF patients can be significantly improved.