Atrial Fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation (AF) creates three related but separate clinical decisions. First, is the ventricular response causing haemodynamic compromise now? Second, should the care plan focus on rate control, rhythm restoration, or both? Third, what stroke-prevention strategy is required? A patient may need urgent cardioversion before a long-term plan is discussed, while another may be comfortable with rate control alone. A normal rate or restored sinus rhythm does not by itself remove embolic risk. For an RPN, the safest sequence is to assess perfusion, obtain or confirm ECG documentation, look for a reversible trigger, carry out ordered therapy within scope, and identify changes that require immediate escalation.