Atrial fibrillation is the most common cardiac rhythm disturbance encountered
in clinical practice. Recent guidelines for the management of atrial
fibrillation are complex and do not include the management of atrial flutter.
To bridge the gap between currently available guidelines and patient management,
we have developed a unique, simple, yet comprehensive pathway for the management
of atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter. The pathway has been designed with
the acronym RACE (rate control, anticoagulation therapy, and electrophysiology/antiarrhythmic
medication) to reflect the 3 main components in patient management.
This model is designed to mandate and then markedly improve adherence to the
published American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association and the
European Society of Cardiology guidelines.