Hospitalization is a major complication of atrial fibrillation (AF) and its burden has been rising across Asia. In Korea alone, AF-related hospitalizations increased by 420% from 2006 to 2015. However, comparable data are lacking in the Philippines. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of AF-related hospitalizations among adult patients aged 19 years or older using database claims of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) in 2017 and 2018.

In both 2017 and 2018, approximately 19–20 per 10,000 total hospital admissions were due to AF. The median patient age was 68 years in 2017 and 69 years in 2018. Most admissions occurred in private tertiary hospitals located in urban areas, with a median length of stay of three days. The in-hospital mortality rate was 1.1% for both years.

Among the arrhythmias, AF was the most common cause of hospitalization in the Philippines in 2017 and 2018, which accounted for 19 per 10,000 hospitalizations. Despite this burden, the associated in-hospital mortality rate remained low.