. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2021 Sep 24.

Published in final edited form as: Circulation. 2018 Apr 16;137(20):e623–e644. doi: 10.1161/CIR.0000000000000568

Table 5.

Knowledge Gaps in the Study of AF Burden

Key Knowledge Gaps
1. Optimal monitoring frequency and duration to measure AF burden
2. Threshold of AF burden that results in an increased risk of stroke, heart failure, dementia, and other AF-related outcomes
3. Prevalence of subclinical AF and effects of AF burden in broad community-based cohorts
4. Risk factors and determinants of AF burden in broad community-based cohorts
5. Lack of temporal relationship between AF burden and stroke in AF patients
6. How AF burden will need to be redefined in the era of widespread, long-term continuous cardiac monitoring
7. Threshold of AF burden that indicates need for anticoagulation in patients with higher risk of stroke (eg, CHA₂DS₂-VASc score ≥2)

AF indicates atrial fibrillation.