Temporal Trends in Population Rates of Incident Atrial Fibrillation and Atrial Flutter Hospitalizations, Stroke Risk, and Mortality Show Decline in Hospitalizations.

Background: Hospitalization for nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) is common and results in substantial cost burden. Current national data trends for the incidence, stroke risk profiles, and mortality of hospitalization for NVAF and atrial flutter (AFL) are sparse.

Methods: The Canadian Institute of Health Information Discharge Abstract Database was used to identify patients ≥ 20 years with incident NVAF/AFL (NVAF, ICD-9 code 427.