Why Are PROs Important?
The importance of PROs in AF was recently underscored by an international working group convened by the International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement (ICHOM) in which a standardized set of outcomes for AF were developed.5 This working group categorized AF outcomes into three major domains: long-term consequences of disease, complications of treatment, and patient reported outcomes . The subset of PROs recommended included health related quality of life, physical functioning, emotional functioning, exercise tolerance, symptom severity, ability to work, and cognitive functioning. While this list might seem exhausting to some, it highlights that AF is particularly sensitive to the patient perceptive set. Specifically, the group identified the importance of both generic PROs, as well as AF-specific PROs. AF- specific instruments provide more face validity and ecological validity to an AF clinic and represent the key domains relevant to both providers and patients. Generic PROs allow for normative comparisons to other same-aged peers who do not have AF. Both approaches have value depending on the comparison of interest.