Health school for patients with atrial fibrillation

Abstract

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the leading cause of disability and death from stroke. Despite efforts of the medical community to reduce the incidence of stroke, the disease prevalence remains high. Evidence-based effective tactics for preventing stroke is the use of anticoagulant therapy. At the same time, there is insufficient treatment compliance, self-withdrawal of the drug or failure to comply with a medication regimen, insufficient control of the international normalized ratio when prescribing warfarin, as well as non-compliance with doctor’s recommendations for a correction of risk factors for AF. Health school for patients with atrial fibrillation which has been elaborated by the authors, is aimed to solve issues of prevention of the disease and its consequences. Conducting health schools does not usually require significant financial costs but at the same time it is an effective prevention mechanism. The educational cycle for patients with AF consists of 6 lessons. The lesson thematic schedule includes: a concept of AF, the disease prevalence and relevance, risk factors for the disease and its exacerbations, classification of AF, its clinical manifestations, diagnosis, complications, rhythm control and anticoagulant therapy in patients with AF. Information is adapted for patients; themes for training of practical skills are proposed.