Experts agree on common vocabulary for atrial fibrillation

The American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association have written a new dictionary of terms and procedures used in the management of patients with atrial fibrillation. Published on the websites of the organizations, the aim of the new dictionary is to ensure that researchers and clinicians are speaking the same language when it comes to designing their research projects, compiling their data bases and registries, and managing their patients with AF. "The newly standardized dictionary of AF terms and procedures will get everybody on the same page," said Martha J. Radford, MD, Chair of the ACC/AHA Task Force on Clinical Data Standards. The Task Force oversees the standardization of the language used in the research and management of common cardiological diseases and has already produced a lexicon for acute coronary syndromes. "When we were writing guidelines, developing registries, or designing performance measures, we found that people often used different words, phrases, and concepts to describe the same things. This new document is a common vocabulary of definitions and terms, so that when cardiologists, physicians, or other health care providers design a registry, clinical trial, or clinical data base for use in their practice, they will have a standardized version of the various terms. It's a library of concepts for use in the care of patients with, in this case, atrial fibrillation," explained Dr. Radford, associate professor of medicine at Yale School of Medicine.Such agreement on a common vocabulary with common definitions will make it easier to compare the results of different studies and registries, perform meaningful meta analyses, and facilitate measurement for quality improvement programs. It will also improve the lines of communication between researchers, payers, and the public. "This document will make it easier to compare what's out there. Before we had this lexicon, we were all over the place," said Robert L. McNamara, MD, Chair of the ACC/AHA Writing Committee for Atrial Fibrillation Clinical Data Standards. "From now on, when physicians want to characterize their patients, we hope they will use the terms that are set out in these standards to define the patient's history and characteristics and collect the same information in the same way," he added.Click here for a copy of the reference guide Reference...