Impact of anthropometric factors on outcomes in atrial fibrillation patients: analysis on 10 220 patients from the European Society of Cardiology (ESC)-European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA) EurObservational Research Programme on Atrial Fibrillation (EORP-AF) general long-term registry.

AIM: To investigate the association of anthropometric parameters [height, weight, body mass index (BMI), body surface area (BSA), and lean body mass (LBM)] with outcomes in atrial fibrillation (AF). METHODS AND RESULTS: Ten-thousand two-hundred twenty patients were enrolled [40.3% females, median age 70 (62-77) years, followed for 728 (interquartile range 653-745) days]. Sex-specific tertiles were considered for the five anthropometric variables. At the end of follow-up, survival free from all-cause death was worse in the lowest tertiles for all the anthropometric variables analyzed. On multivariable Cox regression analysis, an independent association with all-cause death was found for the lowest vs. middle tertile when body weight (hazard ratio [HR] 1.66, 95%CI 1.23-2.23), BMI (HR 1.65, 95%CI 1.23-2.21), and BSA (HR 1.49, 95%CI 1.11-2.01) were analysed in female sex, as well as for body weight in male patients (HR 1.61, 95%CI 1.25-2.07). Conversely, the risk of MACE was lower for the highest tertile (vs. middle tertile) of BSA and LBM in males and for the highest tertile of weight and BSA in female patients. A higher occurrence of haemorrhagic events was found for female patients in the lowest tertile of height [odds ratio (OR) 1.90, 95%CI 1.23-2.94] and LBM (OR 2.13, 95%CI 1.40-3.26). CONCLUSIONS: In AF patients height, weight, BMI, BSA, and LBM were associated with clinical outcomes, with all-cause death being higher for patients presenting lower values of these variables, i.e. in the lowest tertiles of distribution. The anthropometric variables independently associated with other outcomes were also different between male and female subjects.

Clinical Factors Associated with Atrial Fibrillation Detection on Single-Time Point Screening Using a Hand-Held Single-Lead ECG Device.

Our aim was to assess the prevalence of unknown atrial fibrillation (AF) among adults during single-time point rhythm screening performed during meetings or social recreational activities organized by patient groups or volunteers. A total of 2814 subjects (median age 68 years) underwent AF screening by a handheld single-lead ECG device (MyDiagnostick). Overall, 56 subjects (2.0%) were diagnosed with AF, as a result of 12-lead ECG following a positive/suspected recording. Screening identified AF in 2.9% of the subjects ≥ 65 years. None of the 265 subjects aged below 50 years was found positive at AF screening. Risk stratification for unknown AF based on a CHA2DS2VASc > 0 in males and >1 in females (or CHA2DS2VA > 0) had a high sensitivity (98.2%) and a high negative predictive value (99.8%) for AF detection. A slightly lower sensitivity (96.4%) was achieved by using age ≥ 65 years as a risk stratifier. Conversely, raising the threshold at ≥75 years showed a low sensitivity. Within the subset of subjects aged ≥ 65 a CHA2DS2VASc > 1 in males and >2 in females, or a CHA2DS2VA > 1 had a high sensitivity (94.4%) and negative predictive value (99.3%), while age ≥ 75 was associated with a marked drop in sensitivity for AF detection.

Atrial fibrillation pattern and factors affecting the progression to permanent atrial fibrillation.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) may progress from a non-permanent to a permanent form, and improvement in prediction may help in decision-making. In- and outpatients with non-permanent AF were enrolled in a prospective study and followed every 6 months. At baseline, 314 out of 523 patients (60%) had non-permanent AF (25.5% paroxysmal AF, 52.5% persistent, 2% first diagnosed AF). They were mostly males (188, 59.9%), median age 71 years [interquartile range (IQ) 62-77], median CHA2DS2VASc 3 (IQ 1-4), median HATCH score 1 (IQ 1-2). During a follow-up of 701 (IQ 437-902) days, 66 patients (21%) developed permanent AF. CHA2DS2VASc and HATCH scores were incrementally associated with AF progression (p for trend CHA2DS2VASc < 0.001, HATCH p = 0.001). Cox multivariable proportional hazard regression analysis showed that age [hazard ratio (HR) 1.042; 95%CI 1.005-1.080; p = 0.025], moderate-severe left atrial (LA) enlargement at echo (HR 2.072, 95%CI, 1.121-3.831; p = 0.020), antiarrhythmics drugs (HR 0.087, 95%CI 0.011-0.659, p = 0.018), EHRA score > 2 (HR 0.358, 95%CI 0.162-0.791, p = 0.011) and valvular disease (HR 2.196, 95%CI 1.072-4.499, p = 0.032) were significantly associated with AF progression. Adding "moderate-severe LA dilation" to clinical scores, eg. HATCH score (HATCH-LA) with 2 points (Cox multivariable regression analysis) improved prediction of AF progression vs. HATCH score (p = 0.0225). In patients without permanent AF, progression of AF was independently associated with age, LA dilation, AF symptoms severity, antiarrhythmic drugs and valvular disease. Adding LA dilation (moderate-severe volume increase) to clinical scores improved prediction of progression to permanent AF.

Atrial fibrillation in patients with active malignancy and use of anticoagulants: Under-prescription but no adverse impact on all-cause mortality.

Prescription of anticoagulants (ACs) in patients with cancer and atrial fibrillation (AF) is challenging and the impact on survival is not defined. In this study data prospectively collected in Oncology Units were retrospectively evaluated. Among 4664 patients admitted for malignancy, 394 patients (8.4%) had documented AF (mean age of 74 ±â€¯9) and AC was prescribed to 155 patients (40%). Neither the type of cancer, the stage of the disease (metastatic or not) nor the ongoing treatments were significantly associated with prescription of AC, which was independently associated with BMI (OR 1.10; CI 95% 1.03-1.17; p = .003), valvular heart disease (OR 3.76; CI95% 1.59-8.87; p = .002), and previous venous thromboembolism (OR 6.67; 95%CI 2.67-16.70; p < .001). During a median follow-up of 212 days, survival from all-cause death was 37%, 28% and 18% at 6 months, 1 and 2 years, respectively. Only variables related to neoplastic disease or to patient clinical complexity were independently associated with mortality. A CHA2DS2VASc ≥ 4 was significantly associated with mortality (HR 1.33; 95%CI 1.06-1.67; p = .013). Treatment with ACs was not significantly related to mortality, neither in the whole cohort of patients, nor in patients with metastatic malignancies. In conclusion the prescription of ACs in patients with AF and active cancer was suboptimal, with one fourth of the patients not treated with ACs and one third using LMWH at prophylactic, non-therapeutic doses. Only few variables (BMI, valvular heart disease and previous venous thromboembolism) predicted prescription of ACs. Prescription of ACs was not associated with all-cause mortality, even in the subgroup with metastasis.

Variations in clinical management of non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants in patients with atrial fibrillation according to different equations for estimating renal function : Post hoc analysis of a prospective cohort.

Prescription of non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs) requires an assessment of renal function (RF) and the Cockcroft-Gault (CG) equation is traditionally recommended. The objective of the study was to evaluate the potential changes in NOACs management using different equations for estimating RF. In a post hoc analysis of a prospective cohort of patients with atrial fibrillation, we considered different equations: (1) CG for creatinine clearance (CrCl), (2) modification of diet in renal disease (MDRD), (3) CKD-EPI, (4) Berlin Initiative Study 1 (BIS-1) and (5) full age spectrum (FAS), for glomerular filtration rate (GFR). RF was classified according to CrCl in three categories: severely depressed (SD-RF) < 30 ml/min; moderately depressed (MD-RF) 30-49 ml/min; preserved/mildly depressed (P-RF) ≥ 50 ml/min. Concordances in the assignments were analyzed. A population of 402 patients (61.2% males, age 72 ± 11) was categorized according to CrCl: 12 patients (2.9%) as SD-RF, 81 (20.1%) as MD-RF, 309 (76.8%) as P-RF. A potential change in NOACs management could occur using GFR equations rather than CrCl in 16.9% of patients using MDRD formula, in 11.7% using BIS-1, in 14.7% using CKD-EPI and in 12.9% using the FAS equation. Important changes in RF estimates were more frequent in patients aged ≥ 75, but also BMI had a meaningful impact. Use of equations estimating GFR instead of the Cockcroft-Gault equation may result in changes in NOACs management in 12-17% of patients. In the elderly ≥ 75, more pronounced changes in RF classification are detectable according to different equations and NOACs dosing should be further investigated.

Atrial fibrillation and prediction of mortality by conventional clinical score systems according to the setting of care.

BACKGROUND: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with high morbidity and mortality, also among anticoagulated patients. Our aim was to evaluate the predictive role for long-term mortality of a series of risk stratification scores associated with cardiovascular or thromboembolic outcomes (CHADS2, CHA2DS2-VASc, ATRIA, TIMI-AF), and bleeding complications (HAS-BLED) in an unselected population of patients with AF. METHODS: Single center, observational, prospective registry of consecutive patients with AF, undergoing clinical/echocardiographic evaluation in a University Hospital, as either in-patients or out-patients. We assessed the role of each single score as predictors of long-term survival according to clinical setting. RESULTS: We enrolled 1051 patients, mean age 72 ±â€¯12 years, who were followed for 797 ±â€¯298 days. All the tested scores showed a good performance in prediction of mortality, together with several clinical factors (older age, chronic heart failure, diabetes, renal impairment, previous transient ischemic attack, left ventricular ejection fraction). The values at C-statistics ranged between modest (0.608-0.684) of inpatients to good (0.708-0.751) in outpatients without any statistical difference between the scores, excepted a lower performance of HAD-BLED. CONCLUSIONS: Risk scores currently adopted for decision making on starting oral anticoagulation provide good prediction of long-term survival in unselected AF patients, especially in the outpatient setting.

Overweight and obesity in patients with atrial fibrillation: Sex differences in 1-year outcomes in the EORP-AF General Pilot Registry.

BACKGROUND: The impact of overweight and obesity on outcomes in "real world" patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) is not fully defined. Second, sex differences in AF outcomes may also exist. METHODS AND RESULTS: The aim was to investigate outcomes at 1 year follow-up for AF patients enrolled in the EORP-AF Registry, according to BMI (kg/m2 ), comparing patients with normal BMI (18.5 to < 25 kg/m2 ), overweight (25 to < 30 kg/m2 ) and obesity (≥ 30 kg/m2 ), in relation to sex differences. Among 2,540 EORP AF patients (38.9% female; median age 69) with 1 year follow-up data available, 720 (28.3%) had a normal BMI, 1,084 (42.7%) were overweight, and 736 (29.0%) were obese. Obese patients were younger and with more prevalent diabetes mellitus and hypertension (P < 0. 001). One-year outcomes showed that all-cause mortality was significantly different according to BMI among female patients (9.3% normal BMI, 5.3% overweight, and 4.3 % obese, P = 0.023), but not among male patients (P = 0.748). The composite outcome of thromboembolic events and death was also significantly different, being lower in obese females (P = 0.035). Among male patients, bleeding events were significantly more frequent in obese subjects (P = 0.035). On multivariable Cox analysis, BMI was not independently associated with all-cause mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Among AF patients, overweight and obesity are common and associated with better outcomes in females (a finding previously reported as "obesity paradox"), while no significant differences in outcomes are detected among male patients. Final multivariable model found that increasing BMI was not associated with increased risk of all-cause death; conversely, age and comorbidities persisted as major determinants.

'Real-world' management and outcomes of patients with paroxysmal vs. non-paroxysmal atrial fibrillation in Europe: the EURObservational Research Programme-Atrial Fibrillation (EORP-AF) General Pilot Registry.

AIMS: Atrial fibrillation (AF) has different presentations (first detected, paroxysmal, persistent, permanent), with uncertain impact on outcome. The aim of this study was to investigate clinical presentation, management, and outcome of paroxysmal and non-paroxysmal AFs within the EURObservational Research Programme-Atrial Fibrillation General Pilot Registry. METHODS AND RESULTS: Overall 2589 patients with available 1-year follow-up data were evaluated according to AF type. Patients with paroxysmal AF (26.8%) were younger, had lower prevalence of heart disease (particularly valvular), and major co-morbidities, as well as lower CHADS2, CHA2DS2-VASc, and HAS-BLED scores. Patients with first-detected AF (29.9%) had characteristics similar to persistent AF patients (25.9%), but lower use of oral anticoagulants. Patients with permanent AF represented 17.4% of the cohort. At 1 year, the rate of stroke/transient ischaemic attack and thromboembolism was low (0.6-1.0%) and did not differ between paroxysmal and non-paroxysmal AFs. All-cause mortality was higher in non-paroxysmal vs. paroxysmal AF (log rank test, P = 0.0018). Using a multivariable Cox model, non-paroxysmal AF was not an independent predictor of death during follow-up. Independent predictors of death were age, chronic heart failure, chronic kidney disease, diabetes, restrictive cardiomyopathy, and physical activity. CONCLUSION: In this 'real-world' contemporary observational registry, patients with non-paroxysmal AF had a worse outcome, in terms of all-cause mortality, which was related to a more severe clinical profile. The risk of stroke at 1 year was relatively low, perhaps reflecting the high rates of anticoagulation use in this cohort.

Non-valvular atrial fibrillation: potential clinical implications of the heterogeneous definitions used in trials on new oral anticoagulants.

AIMS: To evaluate the potential impact of the different definitions of non-valvular atrial fibrillation reported in the literature and to analyse the possible implications for eligibility for novel oral anticoagulants (NOACs) in clinical practice. METHODS: We derived the definitions of 'non-valvular atrial fibrillation' from the exclusion criteria of the trials on NOACs, and then assessed the number and percentage of patients fulfilling the various definitions in a cohort of 500 consecutive atrial fibrillation patients, undergoing clinical and echocardiographic evaluation in our cardiology department, as either in-patients or out-patients. RESULTS: Among the 500 atrial fibrillation patients (mean age 71.2 ±â€Š12.6 years), with permanent atrial fibrillation in 45.2% of the cases, hypertension was very common, either as the main diagnosis or as an associated disease. Valvular heart disease as the main diagnosis (including valvular prosthesis) accounted for 22.8% of the cases. At the echocardiographic evaluation, valvular alterations were very common, especially mitral regurgitation (present, with a variable degree of severity in 63.6% of the cases). Application of the RE-LY exclusion criteria with regard to valvular disease resulted in 116 (23.2%) patients of our cohort classified as valvular atrial fibrillation. This percentage was reduced to 12.2 and 8.8% if ROCKET-AF and ARISTOTLE/ENGAGE-AF criteria, respectively, were applied. CONCLUSIONS: Non-valvular atrial fibrillation is a common clinical entity, but without a unified definition in the literature. The impact in daily practice of the different definitions adopted in trials is noteworthy, since in one patient out of seven, the eligibility for NOACs can be questioned, simply as a consequence of adopting a more or less restrictive definition.

Asymptomatic atrial fibrillation: clinical correlates, management, and outcomes in the EORP-AF Pilot General Registry.

OBJECTIVE: Atrial fibrillation is often asymptomatic, but outcomes require further characterization. The study objective was to investigate the clinical presentation, management, and outcomes in asymptomatic and symptomatic patients with atrial fibrillation who were prospectively enrolled in the EurObservational Research Programme - Atrial Fibrillation (EORP-AF) Pilot General Registry. METHODS: A total of 3119 patients were enrolled, and 1237 (39.7%) were asymptomatic (European Heart Rhythm Association [EHRA] score I). Among symptomatic patients, 963 (51.2%) had mild symptoms (EHRA score II) and 919 (48.8%) had severe or disabling symptoms (EHRA III-IV). Permanent atrial fibrillation was 3-fold more common in asymptomatic patients than in symptomatic patients. RESULTS: On multivariate analysis, male gender (odds ratio [OR], 1.630; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.384-1.921), older age (OR, 1.019; 95% CI, 1.012-1.026), previous myocardial infarction (OR, 1.681; 95% CI, 1.350-2.093), and limited physical activity (OR, 1.757; 95% CI, 1.495-2.064) were associated significantly with asymptomatic (EHRA I) atrial fibrillation. Fully asymptomatic atrial fibrillation (absence of current and previous symptoms) was present in 520 patients (16.7%) and was associated independently with male gender, age, and previous myocardial infarction. Appropriate guideline-based prescription of oral anticoagulants was lower in these patients, and aspirin was prescribed more frequently. Mortality at 1 year was more than 2-fold higher in asymptomatic patients compared with symptomatic patients (9.4% vs 4.2%, P < .0001) and was associated independently with older age and comorbidities, including chronic kidney disease and chronic heart failure. CONCLUSIONS: Asymptomatic atrial fibrillation is common in daily cardiology practice and is associated with elderly age, more comorbidities, and high thromboembolic risks. A higher 1-year mortality was found in asymptomatic patients compared with symptomatic patients.