A multidisciplinary team approach in the 2024 ESC guidelines for the management of patients with Atrial Fibrillation-what is the role of nurses and allied professionals? A Clinical Consensus Statement of the Association of Cardiovascular Nursing and Allied Professions (ACNAP) and the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA) of the ESC

Abstract

The complexity of atrial fibrillation (AF) requires an integrated, multifaceted, multidisciplinary, and holistic team approach to optimize the management of AF patients. Active engagement of patients and involvement of nurses and various allied professionals (AP) and a strong collaboration with physicians is crucial in this respect as indicated by the 2024 European Society of Cardiology Guidelines on the management of AF. This is also reflected in these latest guidelines by the concept of AF-CARE, which emphasizes the importance of including the patient, carers, and various healthcare professionals. In this Clinical Consensus Statement, the role of nurses and APs is highlighted and includes optimal approaches on their involvement in the implementation and execution for these guideline recommendations in daily clinical practice. Moreover, additional detail will be provided to the key components and their requirements to allow this integrated multidisciplinary care to be implemented alongside the perspective of the patient. This Statement also examines the challenges and opportunities in relation to their application to clinical practice and how optimal multidisciplinary care can be implemented.