Transesophageal echocardiographic thromboembolic risk is associated with smoking status in patients with atrial fibrillation.

BACKGROUND: Smoking is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, but it is unclear whether smoking status, including environmental tobacco smoke, increases stroke risk in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). Abnormalities of the left atrium (LA) and aortic atherosclerosis, as detected by transesophageal echocardiography (TEE), are risk factors for stroke and thromboembolism in AF patients. We investigated the impact of smoking status on thromboembolic risk by TEE in patients with nonvalvular AF. METHODS: In 122 patients with AF (mean age, 63 years; chronic AF 50%) who underwent TEE before catheter ablation of AF or for detection of the potential cardioembolic source, urinary concentrations of cotinine and clinical variables including smoking status and the CHA2DS2-VASc score were determined. RESULTS: Severe aortic atherosclerosis and increased aortic wall thickness were more frequently detected by TEE in current smokers than in non-smokers (p<0.05), though these findings did not significantly differ between non-smokers and environmental smokers. Patients in AF rhythm during TEE, who were environmental smokers and at relatively low risk, as stratified by their CHA2DS2-VASc score (≤ 2), showed lower LA appendage flow velocity than those without environmental smoking (47±22 vs. 34±13 cm/sec, p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: TEE findings indicated that smoking status could be associated with thromboembolic risk in patients with AF.

Impact of persistent smoking on long-term outcomes in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation.

BACKGROUND: Although smoking is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, little is known about the impact of smoking on long-term outcomes in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). METHODS: In 426 consecutive patients with nonvalvular AF (mean age, 66 years; 307 men; mean follow-up, 5.8±3.2 years), clinical variables including smoking status, CHADS2, and CHA2DS2-VASc score, incidences of cardiovascular events (stroke, myocardial infarction, or admission for heart failure), bleeding, and mortality were determined. RESULTS: Incidences of intracranial bleeding (0.7% vs 0.1%/year, p<0.01), all-cause mortality (4.9% vs 2.6%/year, p<0.01), and death from stroke (0.8% vs 0.2%/year, p<0.05) were higher in patients with history of smoking than in those without it. Incidence of intracranial bleeding was significantly higher in persistent smokers than in non-persistent smokers (1.2% vs 0.2%/year, p<0.01). History of smoking predicted all-cause mortality [hazard ratio (HR), 2.7; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.7-4.5; p<0.01] and death from stroke (HR 4.7; 95% CI 1.0-22.3; p<0.05) independent of age, antithrombotic treatment, CHADS2, and CHA2DS2-VASc score. Persistent smoking predicted intracranial bleeding (HR 4.4; 95% CI 1.1-17.6; p<0.05) independent of age and antithrombotic treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Smoking status, independent of age, antithrombotic treatment, and clinical risk factors, predicted long-term adverse outcomes including bleeding events in patients with nonvalvular AF. There might be an obvious impact of persistent smoking on intracranial bleeding.

Hyperuricemia and transesophageal echocardiographic thromboembolic risk in patients with atrial fibrillation at clinically low-intermediate risk.

BACKGROUND: There is no clear consensus on thromboprophylaxis in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (AF) at low-intermediate thromboembolic risk. Although hyperuricemia is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, the relationship between serum uric acid (UA) levels and thromboembolic risk has not been fully elucidated in patients with AF. METHODS AND RESULTS: Serum UA levels and the score for congestive heart failure, hypertension, age, diabetes mellitus, prior stroke/transient ischemic attack, vascular disease and sex (ie, CHA2DS2-VASc score) were determined in 470 patients with nonvalvular AF who underwent transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) to evaluate their risk of thromboembolism. Serum UA levels were similar between the low-intermediate risk (CHA2DS2-VASc score=0 or 1) and high-risk (≥2) groups, although serum D-dimer levels were lower in the low-intermediate risk than in the high-risk group. Among patients at low-intermediate risk, serum UA levels were higher in those with TEE thromboembolic risk (TEE risk: low left atrial appendage flow, spontaneous echo contrast, thrombi, or aortic atherosclerosis) than in those without TEE risk. On multivariate analysis, the serum UA level was an independent predictor of TEE risk in AF patients at low-intermediate risk (odds ratio, 1.45; 95% confidence interval 1.09-2.00; P=0.016). CONCLUSIONS: The serum UA level was associated with thromboembolic risk on TEE in patients with nonvalvular AF at low-intermediate risk stratified by clinical risk factors.