{
  "release_id": "f6f6f1b6f50379ed",
  "id": "cardio:atrial-fibrillation",
  "owner": "cardio",
  "kind": "condition",
  "slug": "atrial-fibrillation",
  "name": "Atrial fibrillation (AF)",
  "aliases": [
    "Atrial fibrillation",
    "AFib",
    "A-fib"
  ],
  "atlases": [
    "cardio"
  ],
  "summary_plain": "Atrial fibrillation, also called AF, A-fib or AFib, is among the commonest arrhythmias. The heartbeat becomes irregular and can speed up well beyond normal. Because blood can collect in the heart, clots can form, and a clot can cause a stroke. Some people have no symptoms, which makes the condition difficult to spot. NHLBI counts over 2 million US adults with it, and the chance of developing it grows with age.",
  "summary_technical": "Hub for the anticoagulant, device and detection records. MeSH descriptor D001281 (Atrial Fibrillation). NHLBI attributes most cases to damage to the heart's muscle tissue or electrical system, usually from other disease; it names coronary heart disease and raised blood pressure, and lists high blood pressure among the conditions that raise the risk. Treatment per NHLBI includes lifestyle changes, medicines (blood thinners, rate control, rhythm control) and procedures. The text rests on NHLBI and MedlinePlus patient pages.",
  "editorial_state": "draft",
  "last_substantive_edit": "2026-10-14",
  "last_evidence_check": "2026-10-14",
  "next_review_due": null,
  "identifiers": [
    {
      "scheme": "mesh",
      "value": "D001281",
      "normalized_value": "D001281",
      "match": "exact",
      "version": "id.nlm.nih.gov linked data, retrieved 2026-10-14",
      "label": null,
      "from_source": false
    }
  ],
  "navigation": {
    "cardio": {
      "system": [
        "heart"
      ],
      "condition-area": [
        "arrhythmias",
        "stroke"
      ]
    }
  },
  "payload": {
    "recognition": "NHLBI lists tiredness, light-headedness, dizziness, a heart that seems to skip, flutter or pound, and chest pain. Some people have none of these.",
    "assessment": null,
    "burden_claims": [
      "cardio:claim-af-can-be-silent"
    ]
  },
  "content_digest": "7463a6c969088cecf3b21819dbdd2b4b0853ee05b8be084919f2b30ad5f604d1",
  "review": {
    "content_digest": "7463a6c969088cecf3b21819dbdd2b4b0853ee05b8be084919f2b30ad5f604d1",
    "current": [],
    "conflicting": [],
    "stale": [],
    "inactive": []
  },
  "claims": [
    {
      "release_id": "f6f6f1b6f50379ed",
      "id": "cardio:claim-af-raises-stroke-risk",
      "owner": "cardio",
      "subject_entity_id": "cardio:atrial-fibrillation",
      "category": "descriptive",
      "statement": "NHLBI explains that in atrial fibrillation blood can collect in the heart, which makes clots more likely to form, and that clots can cause strokes and other problems. It adds that atrial fibrillation left untreated can have serious, even life-threatening, consequences, and it names stroke and heart failure. MedlinePlus says atrial fibrillation can put a person at risk for stroke and other heart conditions. Neither page gives a number for how much atrial fibrillation raises the risk.",
      "context": {
        "id": "cardio:ctx-nhlbi-adults-with-atrial-fibrillation",
        "label": "Adults with atrial fibrillation, in general terms (NHLBI and MedlinePlus patient pages)",
        "recipient": "adult",
        "population": "People with atrial fibrillation, described in general terms. NHLBI puts the number of US adults with atrial fibrillation above 2 million and says the chance of developing it grows with age. The pages do not describe a study population.",
        "care_setting": "Not applicable (patient information pages, not a study)",
        "geography": "Not stated in the pages for most statements; the prevalence sentence refers to the United States",
        "life_stage_note": "Adults in general. NHLBI describes atrial fibrillation as uncommon in children.",
        "life_stage_terms": null,
        "gestational_age_min_days": null,
        "gestational_age_max_days": null,
        "gestational_age_basis": null,
        "postnatal_age_min_days": null,
        "postnatal_age_max_days": null,
        "gestational_age_status": null,
        "postnatal_age_status": null,
        "followup_description": "Not applicable (patient information pages)",
        "eligibility": {
          "inclusion": [],
          "exclusion": []
        }
      },
      "evidence_stage": "synthesis",
      "certainty": "not_assessed",
      "certainty_method": null,
      "limitations": "Patient information pages, not a study. They give no risk estimate and do not say for whom the risk is higher. The NHLBI page is dated 30 November 2022; the MedlinePlus page date was not read.",
      "editorial_state": "draft",
      "checked_at": "2026-10-14",
      "next_review_due": null,
      "valid_from": null,
      "valid_to": null,
      "citations": [
        {
          "evidence_role": "supports",
          "locator": "Page body, paragraph 2",
          "applicability_note": "NHLBI explains how clots form and can lead to stroke.",
          "snapshot": {
            "id": "cardio:nhlbi-atrial-fibrillation-2026-10-14",
            "retrieved_at": "2026-10-14T18:19:49Z",
            "content_hash": "b64d9b1406c4b990086b6d55055c216af16abf1f9606593924807e1d6f07c0d9",
            "source_effective_date": null,
            "public_archive_url": null,
            "source_state": "current"
          },
          "source": {
            "id": "cardio:nhlbi-atrial-fibrillation",
            "source_type": "webpage",
            "title": "Atrial Fibrillation: What Is Atrial Fibrillation? (NHLBI)",
            "canonical_url": "https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/atrial-fibrillation",
            "identifiers": [],
            "publication_date": null,
            "publisher": "National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NIH)",
            "edition": "Page as fetched on 2026-10-14, with the line Last updated on November 30, 2022.",
            "reuse_basis": "Page of the NHLBI website, fetched as cf-nhlbi-atrial-fibrillation.html. Only the hash is kept. The NHLBI terms pages tried returned HTTP 404 (cf-nhlbi-website-policies.html, cf-nhlbi-copyright.html), the NIH web-policies pages returned HTTP 403 (cf-nih-web-policies-notices.html, cf-nih-copyright.html), and the NHLBI privacy and accessibility page (cf-nhlbi-website-privacy-accessibility.html) states no copyright terms. The arrhythmia page also credits a copyrighted animation. The reuse terms are therefore unverified, so public text is cite_only: facts are stated in this atlas's own words.",
            "public_text": "cite_only"
          }
        },
        {
          "evidence_role": "supports",
          "locator": "Page body, paragraph 2 (passage 2)",
          "applicability_note": "NHLBI names stroke and heart failure as complications of untreated atrial fibrillation.",
          "snapshot": {
            "id": "cardio:nhlbi-atrial-fibrillation-2026-10-14",
            "retrieved_at": "2026-10-14T18:19:49Z",
            "content_hash": "b64d9b1406c4b990086b6d55055c216af16abf1f9606593924807e1d6f07c0d9",
            "source_effective_date": null,
            "public_archive_url": null,
            "source_state": "current"
          },
          "source": {
            "id": "cardio:nhlbi-atrial-fibrillation",
            "source_type": "webpage",
            "title": "Atrial Fibrillation: What Is Atrial Fibrillation? (NHLBI)",
            "canonical_url": "https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/atrial-fibrillation",
            "identifiers": [],
            "publication_date": null,
            "publisher": "National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NIH)",
            "edition": "Page as fetched on 2026-10-14, with the line Last updated on November 30, 2022.",
            "reuse_basis": "Page of the NHLBI website, fetched as cf-nhlbi-atrial-fibrillation.html. Only the hash is kept. The NHLBI terms pages tried returned HTTP 404 (cf-nhlbi-website-policies.html, cf-nhlbi-copyright.html), the NIH web-policies pages returned HTTP 403 (cf-nih-web-policies-notices.html, cf-nih-copyright.html), and the NHLBI privacy and accessibility page (cf-nhlbi-website-privacy-accessibility.html) states no copyright terms. The arrhythmia page also credits a copyrighted animation. The reuse terms are therefore unverified, so public text is cite_only: facts are stated in this atlas's own words.",
            "public_text": "cite_only"
          }
        },
        {
          "evidence_role": "supports",
          "locator": "Summary, What is atrial fibrillation (AFib)?",
          "applicability_note": "MedlinePlus says atrial fibrillation can put a person at risk for stroke.",
          "snapshot": {
            "id": "cardio:medlineplus-atrial-fibrillation-2026-10-14",
            "retrieved_at": "2026-10-14T18:19:51Z",
            "content_hash": "05dd4474eec5ceb20edfbb11319991d0352ea39610939491e482a963d33c7a67",
            "source_effective_date": null,
            "public_archive_url": null,
            "source_state": "current"
          },
          "source": {
            "id": "cardio:medlineplus-atrial-fibrillation",
            "source_type": "webpage",
            "title": "Atrial Fibrillation | AFib (MedlinePlus)",
            "canonical_url": "https://medlineplus.gov/atrialfibrillation.html",
            "identifiers": [],
            "publication_date": null,
            "publisher": "MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine",
            "edition": "Page as fetched on 2026-10-14.",
            "reuse_basis": "MedlinePlus health-topic page, fetched as cf-medlineplus-atrialfibrillation.html. The raw page is committed at research/snapshots/cf-medlineplus-atrialfibrillation.html; it also carries licensed images, and only the public-domain summary text is quoted. MedlinePlus says summaries on health topic pages are in the public domain and asks users to acknowledge MedlinePlus as the source (the page titled Linking to and Using Content from MedlinePlus, fetched as cf-medlineplus-usingcontent.html, sha256 31267ce9db016893b80c5665312d92ffc8c34ec86916f84708c353936ba52228). Source: MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine. This atlas quotes only the summary text.",
            "public_text": "quote"
          }
        },
        {
          "evidence_role": "context",
          "locator": "Page body, paragraph 1",
          "applicability_note": "The page says how many US adults have atrial fibrillation.",
          "snapshot": {
            "id": "cardio:nhlbi-atrial-fibrillation-2026-10-14",
            "retrieved_at": "2026-10-14T18:19:49Z",
            "content_hash": "b64d9b1406c4b990086b6d55055c216af16abf1f9606593924807e1d6f07c0d9",
            "source_effective_date": null,
            "public_archive_url": null,
            "source_state": "current"
          },
          "source": {
            "id": "cardio:nhlbi-atrial-fibrillation",
            "source_type": "webpage",
            "title": "Atrial Fibrillation: What Is Atrial Fibrillation? (NHLBI)",
            "canonical_url": "https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/atrial-fibrillation",
            "identifiers": [],
            "publication_date": null,
            "publisher": "National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NIH)",
            "edition": "Page as fetched on 2026-10-14, with the line Last updated on November 30, 2022.",
            "reuse_basis": "Page of the NHLBI website, fetched as cf-nhlbi-atrial-fibrillation.html. Only the hash is kept. The NHLBI terms pages tried returned HTTP 404 (cf-nhlbi-website-policies.html, cf-nhlbi-copyright.html), the NIH web-policies pages returned HTTP 403 (cf-nih-web-policies-notices.html, cf-nih-copyright.html), and the NHLBI privacy and accessibility page (cf-nhlbi-website-privacy-accessibility.html) states no copyright terms. The arrhythmia page also credits a copyrighted animation. The reuse terms are therefore unverified, so public text is cite_only: facts are stated in this atlas's own words.",
            "public_text": "cite_only"
          }
        }
      ],
      "review": {
        "content_digest": "7ce01622ab93efc30f710ab34d1f4924eac98743132c752c91f7e28be1f7d18a",
        "current": [],
        "conflicting": [],
        "stale": [],
        "inactive": []
      },
      "api_path": "api/v1/claims/cardio--claim-af-raises-stroke-risk.json"
    }
  ],
  "decisions": [],
  "milestones": [],
  "relationships": {
    "outgoing": [
      {
        "predicate": "subtype_of",
        "label": "AF is a type of arrhythmia",
        "clinical_claim_not_fact": false,
        "family": "navigation",
        "other_entity_id": "cardio:arrhythmia",
        "other_entity_in_atlas": true,
        "claim_id": null,
        "evidence": null,
        "primary": true,
        "role": null,
        "valid_from": null,
        "valid_to": null
      },
      {
        "predicate": "increases_risk_of",
        "label": "NHLBI: atrial fibrillation can bring on a stroke; no risk figure given",
        "clinical_claim_not_fact": true,
        "family": "clinical",
        "other_entity_id": "core:stroke",
        "other_entity_in_atlas": true,
        "claim_id": "cardio:claim-af-raises-stroke-risk",
        "evidence": null,
        "primary": false,
        "role": null,
        "valid_from": null,
        "valid_to": null
      },
      {
        "predicate": "related_to",
        "label": "High blood pressure is among the conditions that raise the risk (NHLBI)",
        "clinical_claim_not_fact": false,
        "family": "navigation",
        "other_entity_id": "core:hypertension",
        "other_entity_in_atlas": true,
        "claim_id": null,
        "evidence": null,
        "primary": false,
        "role": null,
        "valid_from": null,
        "valid_to": null
      },
      {
        "predicate": "part_of",
        "label": "Filed under this front",
        "clinical_claim_not_fact": false,
        "family": "navigation",
        "other_entity_id": "cardio:front-medicines",
        "other_entity_in_atlas": true,
        "claim_id": null,
        "evidence": null,
        "primary": true,
        "role": null,
        "valid_from": null,
        "valid_to": null
      }
    ],
    "incoming": [
      {
        "predicate": "related_to",
        "label": "Related to",
        "clinical_claim_not_fact": false,
        "family": "navigation",
        "other_entity_id": "core:medlineplus",
        "other_entity_in_atlas": true,
        "claim_id": null,
        "evidence": null,
        "primary": false,
        "role": null,
        "valid_from": null,
        "valid_to": null
      },
      {
        "predicate": "related_to",
        "label": "Related to",
        "clinical_claim_not_fact": false,
        "family": "navigation",
        "other_entity_id": "cardio:bottleneck-undiagnosed-af",
        "other_entity_in_atlas": true,
        "claim_id": null,
        "evidence": null,
        "primary": false,
        "role": null,
        "valid_from": null,
        "valid_to": null
      },
      {
        "predicate": "related_to",
        "label": "Related to",
        "clinical_claim_not_fact": false,
        "family": "navigation",
        "other_entity_id": "cardio:pathway-af-stroke-prevention",
        "other_entity_in_atlas": true,
        "claim_id": null,
        "evidence": null,
        "primary": false,
        "role": null,
        "valid_from": null,
        "valid_to": null
      },
      {
        "predicate": "evaluated_for",
        "label": "Evaluated for this",
        "clinical_claim_not_fact": true,
        "family": "clinical",
        "other_entity_id": "cardio:apixaban",
        "other_entity_in_atlas": true,
        "claim_id": "cardio:claim-aristotle-apixaban-vs-warfarin",
        "evidence": null,
        "primary": false,
        "role": null,
        "valid_from": null,
        "valid_to": null
      },
      {
        "predicate": "evaluated_for",
        "label": "Evaluated for this",
        "clinical_claim_not_fact": true,
        "family": "clinical",
        "other_entity_id": "cardio:dabigatran",
        "other_entity_in_atlas": true,
        "claim_id": "cardio:claim-re-ly-dabigatran-vs-warfarin",
        "evidence": null,
        "primary": false,
        "role": null,
        "valid_from": null,
        "valid_to": null
      },
      {
        "predicate": "evaluated_for",
        "label": "Evaluated for this",
        "clinical_claim_not_fact": true,
        "family": "clinical",
        "other_entity_id": "cardio:rivaroxaban",
        "other_entity_in_atlas": true,
        "claim_id": "cardio:claim-rocket-af-rivaroxaban-vs-warfarin",
        "evidence": null,
        "primary": false,
        "role": null,
        "valid_from": null,
        "valid_to": null
      },
      {
        "predicate": "evaluated_for",
        "label": "Evaluated for this",
        "clinical_claim_not_fact": true,
        "family": "clinical",
        "other_entity_id": "cardio:af-rhythm-control",
        "other_entity_in_atlas": true,
        "claim_id": "cardio:claim-early-rhythm-control-east-afnet-4",
        "evidence": null,
        "primary": false,
        "role": null,
        "valid_from": null,
        "valid_to": null
      },
      {
        "predicate": "evaluated_for",
        "label": "Evaluated for this",
        "clinical_claim_not_fact": true,
        "family": "clinical",
        "other_entity_id": "cardio:oral-anticoagulation",
        "other_entity_in_atlas": true,
        "claim_id": "cardio:claim-oral-anticoagulation-prevents-stroke-in-af",
        "evidence": null,
        "primary": false,
        "role": null,
        "valid_from": null,
        "valid_to": null
      },
      {
        "predicate": "evaluated_for",
        "label": "Evaluated for this",
        "clinical_claim_not_fact": true,
        "family": "clinical",
        "other_entity_id": "cardio:watchman",
        "other_entity_in_atlas": true,
        "claim_id": "cardio:claim-protect-af-watchman-vs-warfarin",
        "evidence": null,
        "primary": false,
        "role": null,
        "valid_from": null,
        "valid_to": null
      },
      {
        "predicate": "investigates",
        "label": "Investigated in",
        "clinical_claim_not_fact": false,
        "family": "sourced",
        "other_entity_id": "cardio:apple-heart-study",
        "other_entity_in_atlas": true,
        "claim_id": null,
        "evidence": {
          "snapshot_id": "cardio:ctgov-nct03335800-2026-10-14",
          "locator": "protocolSection.conditionsModule.conditions[0]"
        },
        "primary": false,
        "role": null,
        "valid_from": null,
        "valid_to": null
      },
      {
        "predicate": "investigates",
        "label": "Investigated in",
        "clinical_claim_not_fact": false,
        "family": "sourced",
        "other_entity_id": "cardio:aristotle",
        "other_entity_in_atlas": true,
        "claim_id": null,
        "evidence": {
          "snapshot_id": "cardio:ctgov-nct00412984-2026-10-14",
          "locator": "protocolSection.conditionsModule.conditions[0]"
        },
        "primary": false,
        "role": null,
        "valid_from": null,
        "valid_to": null
      },
      {
        "predicate": "investigates",
        "label": "Investigated in",
        "clinical_claim_not_fact": false,
        "family": "sourced",
        "other_entity_id": "cardio:protect-af",
        "other_entity_in_atlas": true,
        "claim_id": null,
        "evidence": {
          "snapshot_id": "cardio:ctgov-nct00129545-2026-10-14",
          "locator": "protocolSection.conditionsModule.conditions[0]"
        },
        "primary": false,
        "role": null,
        "valid_from": null,
        "valid_to": null
      },
      {
        "predicate": "investigates",
        "label": "Investigated in",
        "clinical_claim_not_fact": false,
        "family": "sourced",
        "other_entity_id": "cardio:re-ly",
        "other_entity_in_atlas": true,
        "claim_id": null,
        "evidence": {
          "snapshot_id": "cardio:ctgov-nct00262600-2026-10-14",
          "locator": "protocolSection.conditionsModule.conditions[0]"
        },
        "primary": false,
        "role": null,
        "valid_from": null,
        "valid_to": null
      },
      {
        "predicate": "investigates",
        "label": "Investigated in",
        "clinical_claim_not_fact": false,
        "family": "sourced",
        "other_entity_id": "cardio:rocket-af",
        "other_entity_in_atlas": true,
        "claim_id": null,
        "evidence": {
          "snapshot_id": "cardio:ctgov-nct00403767-2026-10-14",
          "locator": "protocolSection.conditionsModule.conditions[0]"
        },
        "primary": false,
        "role": null,
        "valid_from": null,
        "valid_to": null
      },
      {
        "predicate": "evaluated_for",
        "label": "Evaluated for this",
        "clinical_claim_not_fact": true,
        "family": "clinical",
        "other_entity_id": "cardio:wearable-rhythm-detection",
        "other_entity_in_atlas": true,
        "claim_id": "cardio:claim-apple-heart-study-alerts",
        "evidence": null,
        "primary": false,
        "role": null,
        "valid_from": null,
        "valid_to": null
      }
    ]
  },
  "page_path": "conditions/atrial-fibrillation/",
  "context_path": "api/v1/context/cardio--atrial-fibrillation.md"
}