THE NIGERIAN ATRIAL FIBRILLATION NATIONAL REGISTRY: RATIONALE, DESIGN AND EARLY FINDINGS.

Introduction/background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained cardiac arrhythmia. The AF Atrial Fibrillation Registry, which commenced in June 2023, was designed to provide clinical epidemiological data on patients with AF in the country.

Objective(s): The objective is to describe the rationale, design, and early findings from the registry.

Materials/methods: This is a prospective clinical registry of adult patients aged 18 years and above with AF.

Results: The registry so far included 276 patients who met the eligibility criteria. There were 146(52.8%) males (mean age-63.3(14.13) years) and 130 (47.1%) females (mean age-59.3(17.58) years) Cardiovascular risk profile of the patients with AF was cigarette smoking (current/previous 2(38 %), hypertension 203(74%), diabetes 28(10.3%), and family history of CVD 56(20.6%). The median CHADVASC score is 3(IQR - 2,4). Rate control was the most frequent management strategy. Eighty-seven (87) have completed 6 months of follow-up, 10(11%) were re-hospitalized, and 9(10.3%) died.

Conclusions: Compared to developed countries, our patients with AF are relatively young and have lower rates of diabetes mellitus but higher rates of hypertension. Rate control is the main strategy used for managing AF. Mortality is high at one year but lags behind re-hospitalization. This may provide an opportunity for intervention.