Illness beliefs, quality of life and clinical outcome in persistent AF
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Illness and treatment beliefs, quality of life and clinical outcome in patients with persistent atrial fibrillation.
IRAS ID
158778
Contact name
Barbara Dahill
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King’s College London
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Atrial Fibrillation (AF) is a cardiac arrhythmia which is associated with a five-fold increased risk of stroke, and affects 5% of the population under 65. Persistent AF (PAF), which is characterised by sustained AF episodes of more than 7 days, has been far less researched than other types of AF. Previous literature has highlighted emotional and psychological distress in AF patients, as well as low quality of life (Dorian et al., 2000). The way patients view their illness, i.e. their illness beliefs, has been found to affect quality of life and recovery in patients with other chronic illness. The current research will investigate whether illness and treatment beliefs predict patient reported outcomes, such as quality of life, and clinical outcomes, such as recurrence of arrhythmia, after treatment. Patients undergoing catheter ablation, atrio-ventricular node ablation and cardioversion will be examined over 12 months. Depression and anxiety will also be measured over 12 months, and the association between patient reported symptoms, and objective clinical measures of illness will be compared, both before and after treatment.
REC name
London - Bloomsbury Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/LO/2148
Date of REC Opinion
1 Dec 2014
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion