Cost of Atrial Fibrillation: Invasive vs Non-Invasive Management in 2012

Abstract: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained cardiac arrhythmia. It places an enormous burden on the patients, caregivers and the society at large. As a chronic illness, AF accrues significant costs related to clinical presenta-tion, complications and loss of productivity. Novel invasive approaches to AF promise a cure in some patients and a sig-nificant reduction in AF burden in others, but are very expensive. This paper will address the cost of conventional and in-vasive strategies in AF care and will review the evidence on the comparative cost effectiveness of these approaches