ArticleCardiology research and practice2019
Patients' Experiences of Living with Atrial Fibrillation: A Mixed Methods Study.
Article in Cardiology research and practice, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 24 citations in OpenAlex.
- Quality of Life and Safety Outcomes after First-Line Treatment of Symptomatic AF with Cryoablation or Drug Therapy: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Reviews in cardiovascular medicine · 2024Pooled it
- Patient Perspectives on the "Future Patient" Telerehabilitation Program for Atrial Fibrillation: Qualitative Study.JMIR cardio · 2025Trial
- Experiences of Patients With Atrial Fibrillation Using Technology to Personalize Self-Care Decision-Making: Interpretive Description Study.JMIR cardio · 2026Article
- Cardiac rehabilitation in atrial fibrillation: a protocol for a Danish survey and registry-based study (PRIME-AF).BMJ open · 2025Article
- Experiences of living with symptomatic atrial fibrillation.Nursing open · 2023Article
- Effect of social support on illness perception in patients with atrial fibrillation during "Blanking Period": Mediating role of sense of mastery.Nursing open · 2023Article
- 'Out of sync': a qualitative investigation of patients' experiences of atrial fibrillation and perceptions of weight management.BMJ open · 2022Article
- Validation of the English version of the arrhythmia-specific questionnaire in tachycardia and arrhythmia (ASTA): a Rasch evaluation study.Journal of patient-reported outcomes · 2022Article
- Effects of 3 months of detraining following cardiac rehabilitation in patients with atrial fibrillation.European review of aging and physical activity : official journal of the European Group for Research into Elderly and Physical Activity · 2022Article
- Observational
- Redefining the Standard for Atrial Fibrillation: A Patient-centric Report.European cardiology · 2021Review
- The Combined Effects of Patient Activation and Relational Aspects on the Quality of Life in Atrial Fibrillation Patients.Frontiers in psychology · 2021Article
- Illness Perceptions and Health-Related Quality of Life in Women and Men With Atrial Fibrillation.The Journal of cardiovascular nursingArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionAwareness of epidemiological and clinical consequences of atrial fibrillation (AF) has increased, as have disease-related costs. Less attention has been paid to patient-related issues, such as understanding how symptoms, different therapies, and lifestyle adjustments affect daily life. We aimed to describe patients' experiences of living with AF.
methodsThe study design used a parallel convergent mixed methods approach. Patients with AF were included in the SMURF study and referred for catheter ablation. Patients completed questionnaires on symptoms, health-related quality of life, depression, anxiety, and perceived control and were interviewed. The datasets were analysed separately using inductive content analysis and descriptive statistics. Data were merged to obtain a final interpretation.
resultsNineteen patients were interviewed and 18 completed questionnaires. Twelve of the patients were male, mean age 60 years (45-75 years). Inductive qualitative analysis revealed three categories: (i) symptoms and concerns limiting life, (ii) dimensions of worries, and (iii) strategies for management. The most common symptoms were tiredness, weakness/fatigue, and breathlessness during activities, and the most pronounced negative impacts on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) were physically related, shown in the ASTA questionnaire. The most negative SF-36 scores were found in role limitations due to physical health problems and vitality. HADS revealed five patients with some degree of anxiety and four with some degree of depression. Patients had lower scores on perceived control than perceived helplessness in CAS. Patients' perceived control was higher than their families', and families experienced more helplessness.
conclusionsThe mixed methods design deepens our understanding of challenges faced by patients. Patients experienced a limited ability to perform activities of daily living due to AF which created different kinds of worries that encouraged the use of various strategies to manage their lives. Healthcare providers need to be aware that relationships between patients and their relatives can change, and therefore they need to be supported and integrated into the care system.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.