European Journal of Cardiovascular Medicine

Introduction: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a prevalent and clinically significant cardiac arrhythmia, particularly in the elderly population. This study aimed to investigate the clinical presentation, predisposing factors, etiology, and complications of AF.  Materials and Methodology: We conducted a prospective observational study involving 123 atrial fibrillation cases admitted to the Government Medical College and Hospital in Bhavnagar, Gujarat, India, from August 2019 to January 2020. Comprehensive patient histories and clinical examinations were conducted following a predefined proforma, and all necessary investigations were gathered and subsequently analyzed. Results: Among the 123 cases, 65 were male, and 58 were female. The mean age was 51.05 ± 13.19 years, with the majority falling in the 40-59 age group (50.40%). Dyspnea was the predominant symptom in 82.11% of cases, followed by palpitations in 77.23%. Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) was the most common etiology of atrial fibrillation (AF) at 48.78% in our study, followed by ischemic heart disease (IHD) with hypertension (20%). Among RHD cases, mitral stenosis (MS) was the most prevalent valvular lesion, accounting for 26.83%. Complications included congestive cardiac failure in 67.48% of cases and congestive cardiac failure with cerebrovascular accident in 13.01%. Our study reported a mortality rate of 6.50% Conclusion: In our investigation, a higher proportion of male participants were observed compared to females. The predominant age group among the subjects was 41-59 years. The primary cause of cases in our study was rheumatic heart disease (RHD), with ischemic heart disease (IHD) in conjunction with hypertension comprising the second most common etiology at 20%.