Transforming atrial fibrillation management by targeting comorbidities and reducing health care burden
An international panel of experts has published recommendations to improve care of atrial fibrillation (AF) patients. The paper summarizes the results of the 10th AFNET/EHRA consensus conference—a two-day meeting in May 2025 of more than 80 renowned experts from academia and industry that was jointly organized by the Atrial Fibrillation NETwork (AFNET) and the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA). On 15 December 2025, the consensus report was published in the journal Europace.
AF is the most common cardiac arrhythmia and is associated with stroke, heart failure, and other severe complications. It affects several million people worldwide and is a growing unmet medical need in an aging population.
During the conference, the invited scientists pooled their interdisciplinary knowledge on AF management and research and discussed new perspectives for better care. They identified knowledge gaps and key research priorities.
Dr. Emma Svennberg, a cardiologist from Stockholm, Sweden, and first author of the paper, explained, "AF treatment is undergoing a considerable shift from an exclusive focus on stroke prevention to management of concomitant co-morbidities and AF burden reduction. However, both rhythm control and therapy of coexisting conditions remain underused, and patients with AF continue to experience poor outcomes with associated high health care costs. This underscores the need for streamlined treatment to target risk factors, AF burden and rhythm."
Prof. Paulus Kirchhof, Hamburg, Germany, AFNET board chair and one of the four chairpersons of the consensus conference, stated, "The growing role of rhythm control as a treatment with the potential to modify the disease trajectory by reducing AF burden and to reduce cardiovascular events creates a new unmet need for simple, safe, and effective rhythm control therapies.
"While catheter ablation continues to expand, many patients with AF will require pharmacological rhythm control therapy, either as a primary or adjunctive approach. Development of new antiarrhythmic drugs, optimizing the use of existing antiarrhythmic drugs and new methods to prevent AF remain clinical imperatives."
The consensus report furthermore describes quantitative traits that may enable a shift towards risk-driven therapy strategies that are safe, accessible, and patient-centered. Applying artificial intelligence methods can further improve risk estimation and personalized therapy selection.
Prof. Andreas Goette, Paderborn, Germany, AFNET board member and co-chair of the consensus conference, concluded, "Together, these efforts offer pathways towards personalized, patient-centered, multimodal and accessible AF management that integrates rhythm control, stroke prevention, and therapy of concomitant conditions to bridge today's practical needs with tomorrow's therapeutic innovation."
Prof. Jose Luis Merino, Madrid, Spain, past-president of EHRA and co-chair of the 10th AFNET/EHRA consensus conference, said, "For many years, the AFNET/EHRA consensus conferences have been an important forum for international cooperation among recognized experts in the field of atrial fibrillation. We believe that the recommendations of this expert panel will help to optimize AF therapy and improve the outcomes of many AF patients in the world."
Participants of the 10th AFNET/EHRA Consensus Conference came from Europe, U.S., Canada, and Australia. The meeting was chaired by the four cardiologists: Prof. Andreas Goette and Prof. Paulus Kirchhof, both from AFNET, and Dr. Emma Svennberg and Prof. Jose Luis Merino, both from EHRA.
More information:
Emma Svennberg et al, Transforming atrial fibrillation management by targeting comorbidities and reducing atrial fibrillation burden: the 10th AFNET/EHRA consensus conference, Europace (2025). DOI: 10.1093/europace/euaf318
Provided by Kompetenznetz Vorhofflimmern e.V. (AFNET)
