Recent Onset Atrial Fibrillation: What's in a Name

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common cardiac dysrhythmia encountered in the Emergency Department (ED) setting. The term, 'recent-onset AF', whilst inconsistently defined across protocols and guidelines, generally refers to the 48-h window for cardioversion when used in the ED setting. A clear terminology and taxonomy of AF is needed to guide ED clinicians, researchers and patients with respect to AF and its acute presentation to the ED. In this article, we discuss the current inconsistencies with terminology pertaining to acute AF and present evidence to support the use of the term 'acute recent-onset AF'. In addition, a three-part taxonomy is suggested to better delineate the various presentations of AF to the ED.