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= World Atrial Fibrillation Awareness Day = World Atrial Fibrillation Awareness Day is an annual worldwide event that is held on the second Saturday of September. It is sponsored by the nonprofit organization Global Atrial Fibrillation Alliance (GAFA) as an effort to raise awareness for the highly prevalent heart disorder atrial fibrillation. The first World Atrial Fibrillation Awareness Day was held on September 8, 2012. This year, the event will be held on September 13, 2012.

Background and History
Atrial fibrillation is a heart condition that is characterized by an abnormal and irregular heartbeat pattern, or arrhythmia. This condition can lead to stroke, heart attack, or heart failure. Atrial fibrillation is the most common arrhythmia in the world; in the United States alone, about 5 million people have atrial fibrillation. However, many people with the disease do not know that they have it. There are even fewer people with the disease that know about treatment options, management, and coping techniques.

The organization GAFA was founded to raise awareness of the prevalence of atrial fibrillation in society by "bringing together patients, physicians, and industry world-wide for the common goal of improving the knowledge, awareness, and support for the management of atrial fibrillation".

To accomplish this goal, GAFA initiated the World Atrial Fibrillation Awareness Day campaign in the fall of 2012 with plans to hold the event annually. The organization hopes that this event will help spread knowledge of the treatment and management of atrial fibrillation across the entire world. This, according to GAFA, will "create an active, informed, and united community...to provide the best healthcare possible for atrial fibrillation".

The Event
According to GAFA, the goal of World Atrial Fibrillation Day is to spread knowledge of atrial fibrillation as well as raise money for investigator initiated research. Local groups in each city organize and plan the events themselves. For example, the event in Kansas City, Missouri consists of a yoga session followed by a 5-kilometer run, an optional 1 mile walk, and a silent auction. In addition, there will be educational material on atrial fibrillation, treatment options, coping methods, and recommended healthy lifestyle changes for people with atrial fibrillation.

The following cities will be organizing events for World Atrial Fibrillation Day 2013:
 * Kansas City, Missouri
 * Phoenix, Arizona
 * Rio de Janeiro, Brazil