CanadiEM - y Andrei SmarandacheApril 7, 2020
"Overview
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a supraventricular tachycardia in which the atria contract in a rapid and disorganized fashion. Untreated AF can result in life threatening complications including stroke (through the formation and transmission of emboli secondary to blood stasis in the atria), Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) (through reduced coronary flow and often rapid ventricular rate), and pulmonary edema/heart failure (through increased pulmonary arterial pressures secondary to increased afterload in the atria). Etiologies of AF are many and a complete discussion is beyond the scope of this article.
Key points in the management of non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) in the emergency department (With recent changes from the 2018 CCS Guidelines indicated)"