Baseline characteristics of patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation — single-centre registry

Streszczenie

Introduction. The evaluation of clinical profile of patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) is very important because it determines the choice of antithrombotic and anti-arrhythmic therapy. The presence of concomitant diseases, as well as the age and sex of patients with AF, influence the risk of stroke. The aim of the study was to analyse demographic data and assess the prevalence of concomitant diseases and the risk of thromboembolic and bleeding complications in hospitalized patients with AF.

Material and methods. Our study is a single-centre, retrospective registry. The analysis included data of 4,099 patients hospitalized in reference cardiology centre who were discharged with the diagnosis of AF in the years 2004–2012.

Results. The analysed group included 4,099 patients with AF; 2,244 study participants (54.7%) were females. Mean age of whole study population was 70.6 years. Chronic AF was diagnosed in 1,875 patients (45.7%). Paroxysmal AF occurred in 1,767 patients (43.1%). The most frequent diseases that coexisted with AF in the study group were: hypertension in 3,067 patients (74.8%), ischaemic heart disease in 2,324 patients (56.7%), and heart failure in 2,247 patients (54.8%). Among study participants, 297 patients (7.2%) were free from risk factors of stroke (CHADS2 = 0); 1,042 patients (25.4%) had CHADS2 score of 1 and 2,760 patients (67.4%) had CHADS2 score of 2 or more points.

Conclusions. In our registry of hospitalized patients with AF, the most prevalent group were elderly patients with many concomitant diseases that can be considered as a cause of arrhythmia, but also influence thromboembolic risk in these patients and determine the need for antithrombotic therapy.