Dear Colleagues,

Atrial fibrillation is the most common rhythm disorder affecting men and women. Atrial fibrillation independently increases mortality risk, and its presence is associated with a heightened risk for stroke, a higher likelihood of the worsening of other cardiovascular conditions, and a reduced quality of life. The presence of clinical and current disease is also a unique and not uncommon issue with atrial fibrillation. Globally, both the incidence and prevalence of atrial fibrillation are increasing, making this diagnosis increasingly relevant to medical practitioners worldwide. 

Clinical trials of patients with atrial fibrillation randomized to receive a rhythm control versus rate control strategy with equivalent stroke prevention have established the paradigm that aggressive rhythm control confers no significant survival benefit; however, the past decade has seen a rapid growth in our understanding of the electrophysiology of atrial fibrillation as well as the emergence of greater options for the pharmacologic and catheter-based treatment of this arrhythmia. Not surprisingly, more contemporary reviews of the clinical management of atrial fibrillation have challenged the paradigm that early rhythm control is not superior to rate control in subjects with atrial fibrillation.

The aim of this Special Issue of the Journal of Clinical Medicine is to provide the reader with a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of atrial fibrillation, including current thinking regarding its pathogenesis, novel contributors to clinical risk, contemporary approaches to diagnosis, and state-of-the-art pharmacotherapy as well as catheter-based management. We hope to provide the reader with the most current understanding of this common rhythm disorder to equip them with the knowledge to better understand current management options to appreciate the science behind current society-based management guidelines.

In this Special Issue, we invite basic science and clinical researchers to submit high-quality original manuscripts providing current insights into the prevalence, pathophysiology, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of atrial fibrillation. 

Dr. Michael D. Faulx
Dr. John Rickard
Dr. Eoin Donnellan
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Clinical Medicine is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• atrial fibrillation
• epidemiology
• pathogenesis
• catheter-based therapies
• anti-arrhythmic therapy
• stroke prevention