INTRODUCTION: Atrial fibrillation is a supraventricular tachyarrhythmia 
characterised by the presence of fast and uncoordinated atrial activation 
leading to reduced atrial mechanical function. Risk factors for atrial 
fibrillation include increasing age, male sex, co-existing cardiac and thyroid 
disease, pyrexial illness, electrolyte imbalance, cancer, and co-existing 
infection.
METHODS AND OUTCOMES: We conducted a systematic review and aimed to answer the 
following clinical question: What are the effects of oral medical treatments to 
control heart rate in people with chronic (defined as longer than 1 week for 
this review) non-valvular atrial fibrillation? We searched: Medline, Embase, The 
Cochrane Library, and other important databases up to May 2014 (Clinical 
Evidence reviews are updated periodically; please check our website for the most 
up-to-date version of this review). We included harms alerts from relevant 
organisations such as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the UK 
Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
RESULTS: We found four studies that met our inclusion criteria. We performed a 
GRADE evaluation of the quality of evidence for interventions.
CONCLUSIONS: In this systematic review we present information relating to the 
effectiveness and safety of the following interventions: beta-blockers 
(rate-limiting, with or without digoxin), calcium-channel blockers (with or 
without digoxin), and digoxin.