Emergency department management of atrial fibrillation in the United States versus Ontario, Canada

Survey data suggest that there is considerable international variation in the emergency department (ED) management of patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). Hospitalization is common in the United States (US), where nearly 70% of ED visits for AF end in hospitalization; this has remained constant since 2000. In comparison, in Canada’s most populous province less than 40% of individual AF patients were admitted in 2010, which had dropped by 10% since 2002.However, no direct intercountry comparisons have been published. Our objective was to directly compare ED AF visits, and their associated management strategies, in the US and the province of Ontario, Canada.