UK Member of the European Parliament Joins the Call for the Prevention of Atrial Fibrillation-Related Strokes to be Made a National Healthcare Priority

as well as 90 Medical and Patient Organisations, and more than 100,000 people, in supporting the Global Atrial Fibrillation (AF) Patient Charter and calling for National Governments and the World Health Organisation to act to make the prevention of AF-related strokes a priority. The Charter outlines ways to improve the diagnosis and management of AF which, if implemented, could stop thousands of preventable strokes from occurring each and every year. Why Action is Needed Now? This is an epidemic already in progress, “The Global AF Patient Charter is a good reference for National Ministries of Health across the 27 European Member States and I would urge the UK government to endorse it, ” said MEP Rebecca Taylor. “The Charter recommendations could help the government reduce the heavy socio-economic burden of AF-related strokes.” The financial burden placed on the UK healthcare system by stroke is huge. Stroke is estimated to cost the NHS more than £3 billion every year. The related NHS cost for each AF-associated stroke is £11,900 in the first year after the stroke. This can increase by up to a further £8,000 a year if the stroke is disablingi. The personal impact for AF-related stroke survivors and their families cannot be underestimated with more than a third of survivors returning home with some level of permanent disabilityii. AF also increases the risk of medical complications following a stroke with survivors suffering more frequently from conditions such as pneumonia and accumulation of fluid in the lungs