**2. Epidemiology**

Evidence based on epidemiological studies in the USA suggests that the overall incidence of atrial flutter is about 88/100,000 person-years. When adjusted for age, the incidence of atrial flutter in men is more than 2.5 times that of women. The age-specific incidence of atrial flutter increases exponentially with age from 5/100,000 person-years in those less than 50 years old to 587/100,000 person-years among individuals more than 80 years [1].

The risk factors that are identified as the highest risk for developing atrial flutter include male gender, increasing age, heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and diabetes mellitus.
