Hu WS, et al. - Using the Taiwan’s Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2000, researchers performed a retrospective cohort study to investigate whether there was a relationship between the new-onset atrial fibrillation (AF) and critical illness (septicemia/septic shock, acute myocardial infarction [AMI], hemorrhagic stroke and ischemic stroke). The study included 46,470 patients in the critical illness cohort and 618,998 persons in the general population cohort. Patients with septicemia/septic shock were found to be 3.12-fold more likely to develop AF, followed by patients with ischemic stroke, patients with AMI, and patients with hemorrhagic stroke vs the general population cohort.