The AF-CARE pathway: European Society of Cardiology 2024 Guidelines

The 2024 European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Guidelines for the management of atrial fibrillation (AF) have just been published. A new framework was presented based on the latest scientific evidence: the AF-CARE pathway.

[C] Comorbidity and risk factor management;
[A] Avoid stroke and thromboembolism;
[R] Reduce symptoms by rate and rhythm control; and
[E] Evaluation and dynamic reassessment.

AF is one of the most common heart disease, and the prevalence of AF is expected to double in the next few decades as a consequence of the ageing population, an increasing burden of comorbidities, improved awareness, and new technologies for detection. As such, the new guidelines focus on patient-centred AF management with joint decision-making and a multidisciplinary team; equal care, to avoid health inequalities based on gender, ethnicity, disability, and socioeconomic factors; and comorbidities and risk factors, to avoid recurrence and progression of AF, improve success of AF treatments, and prevent AF-related adverse outcomes.

Take a look:
https://academic.oup.com/eurheartj/advance-article/doi/10.1093/eurheartj/ehae176/7738779?login=false...


Reference:

Isabelle C Van Gelder, Michiel Rienstra, Karina V Bunting, Ruben Casado-Arroyo, Valeria Caso, Harry J G M Crijns, Tom J R De Potter, Jeremy Dwight, Luigina Guasti, Thorsten Hanke, Tiny Jaarsma, Maddalena Lettino, Maja-Lisa Løchen, R Thomas Lumbers, Bart Maesen, Inge Mølgaard, Giuseppe M C Rosano, Prashanthan Sanders, Renate B Schnabel, Piotr Suwalski, Emma Svennberg, Juan Tamargo, Otilia Tica, Vassil Traykov, Stylianos Tzeis, Dipak Kotecha, ESC Scientific Document Group , 2024 ESC Guidelines for the management of atrial fibrillation developed in collaboration with the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (EACTS): Developed by the task force for the management of atrial fibrillation of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), with the special contribution of the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA) of the ESC. Endorsed by the European Stroke Organisation (ESO), European Heart Journal, 2024;, ehae176, https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehae176


Photo by Catarina Carrão, Rhythm©️ surfboard.