Socioeconomic Status as a Predictor of Mortality in Patients Admitted With Atrial Fibrillation.

Lower socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease. However, the association between SES and mortality in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) is not clear. We examined whether SES predicts all-cause mortality in patients hospitalized with AF. This is a retrospective study of patients aged >18 years, admitted with a primary diagnosis of AF to Montefiore Medical Center between 2000 and 2010. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to determine predictors of survival adjusted for age, gender, heart failure, diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease, previous myocardial infraction, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hypertension, peripheral vascular disease, and SES. SES was determined using the New York City Department of Health Standardized Score (a log composite score of household income, value of housing units, net rental income, household occupations, and educational level). The cohort was divided into quartiles based on SES score, with Q4 the highest and Q1 the lowest SES score. There were 4,503 patients identified with a mean follow up of 4.5 years in the following SES quartiles: Q1 (n = 1,132), Q2 (n = 1,119), Q3 (n = 1,126), and Q4 (n = 1,126). The unadjusted mortality varied across quartiles (Q1 to Q4), 54%, 58%, 56%, and 59%, respectively (p = 0.004). After controlling for other variables in the multivariable analysis, patients with the lowest SES (Q1) had a significantly higher mortality than patients in the quartile with the highest (Q4) SES (odds ratio 1.3, CI 1.1 to 1.5). In conclusion, patients admitted to the hospital with AF have varying mortality based on their SES. After controlling for co-morbidities, patients with AF and lower SES scores had higher mortality. Further research studies are warranted to study this risk of increased mortality in AF population.

Left atrial appendage morphology assessment for risk stratification of embolic stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation: A meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Thromboembolic event (TE) risk stratification is performed by using CHA2DS2VASc score. It has been suggested that left atrial appendage (LAA) morphology independently influences TE risk in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation. LAA morphology has been classified into 4 types: chicken wing, cauliflower, windsock, and cactus. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine TE risk for each LAA morphology in patients with atrial fibrillation with low to intermediate TE risk. METHODS: A systematic review of MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, and Embase for studies that used computed tomography, tridimensional transesophageal echocardiography, and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging to categorize the LAA morphologies with assessment of TE prevalence. Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were measured using the Mantel-Haenszel method. The fixed effects model was used, and if heterogeneity (I2) was >25%, effects were analyzed using a random model. RESULTS: Eight studies with 2596 patients were included. Eighty-four percent (n=1872) of patients had a CHADS2 score of <2. TE risk was lower in chicken wing morphology than in non-chicken wing morphology (OR 0.46; 95% CI 0.36-0.58). Likewise, chicken wing morphology had lower TE risk than did other morphologies (chicken wing vs cauliflower: OR 0.38; 95% CI 0.26-0.56; chicken wing vs windsock: OR 0.48; 95% CI 0.31-0.73; chicken wing vs cactus: OR 0.49; 95% CI 0.36-0.66). CONCLUSION: Patients with chicken wing LAA morphology are less likely to develop TE than patients with non-chicken wing morphology. LAA morphology may be a valuable criterion in predicting TE and could affect the stratification and anticoagulation management of patients with low to intermediate TE risk.