Publications

Abstract Aims In recent years, attention to subclinical atrial fibrillation (SCAF), defined as the presence of atrial high-rate episodes (AHREs), in patients with cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs), has gained much interest as a determinant of clinical AF and stroke risk. To perform a systematic review and meta-regression of the available scientific evidence regarding the epidemiology of SCAF in patients receiving CIEDs. Methods and results PubMed and EMBASE were searched for all studies documenting the incidence of AHREs in patients (n = 100 or more) with CIEDs without any previous history of AF from inception to 20 August 2021, screened by two independent blind reviewers. This study was registered in PROSPERO: CRD42019106994. Among the 2614 results initially retrieved, 54 studies were included, with a total of 72 784 patients. Meta-analysis of included studies showed a pooled prevalence of SCAF of 28.1%, with an incidence rate (IR) of 16 new SCAF cases per 100 patient-years (I2 = 100%). Multivariate meta-regression analysis showed that age and follow-up time were the only significant determinants of IR, explaining a large part of the heterogeneity (R2 = 61.5%, P < 0.001), with higher IR at earlier follow-up and in older patients, decreasing over follow-up time and increasing according to mean age. Older age, higher CHA2DS2-VASc score, history of AF, hypertension, CHF, and stroke/TIA were all associated with SCAF occurrence. Conclusions In this systematic review and meta-regression analysis, IR of SCAF increased with age and decreased over longer follow-up times. SCAF was associated with older age, higher thromboembolic risk, and several cardiovascular comorbidities.

In healthy individuals, high-normal BP and IFG were important risk factors for AF. When high-normal BP and IFG were combined, the risk of new-onset AF was significantly increased. These findings may suggest that lifestyle interventions for high-normal BP and IFG should be considered to reduce the risk of AF.

People with screen-detected AF are at elevated calculated stroke risk: above age 65, the majority have a Class-1 OAC recommendation for stroke prevention, and >70% have ≥1 additional stroke risk factor other than age/sex. Our data, based on the largest number of screen-detected AF collected to date, show the precise relationship between yield and estimated stroke risk profile with age, and strong dependence for NNS-RX on the age distribution of the population to be screened: essential information for precise cost-effectiveness calculations.

Vitamin K antagonists are currently recommended in patients with 'valvular' atrial fibrillation (AF), e. g. those having mitral stenosis or artificial heart valves. We compared thromboembolic risk in patients with 'non valvular' AF and in those with AF and biological valve replacement (valve bioprosthesis). Among 8962 AF patients seen between 2000 and 2010, a diagnosis of 'non-valvular AF' was found in 8053 (94 %). Among patients with 'valvular' AF, 549 (6 %) had a biological prosthesis. The patients with bioprosthesis were older and had a higher CHA2DS2-VASc score than those with non valvular AF. After a follow-up of 876 ± 1048 days (median 400 days, interquartile range 12-1483), the occurrence of thromboembolic events was similar in AF patients with bioprosthesis compared to those with 'non valvular' AF (hazard ratio [HR] 1.10 95 % confidence interval [CI] 0.83-1.45, p=0.52, adjusted HR 0.93, 95 %CI 0.68-1.25, p=0.61). Factors independently associated with increased risk of stroke/TE events were older age (HR 1.25, 95 %CI 1.16-1.34 per 10-year increase, p< 0.0001) and higher CHA2DS2-VASc score (HR 1.35, 95 %CI 1.24-1.46, p< 0.0001) whilst female gender (HR 0.75, 95 %CI 0.62-0.90, p=0.002), use of vitamin K antagonist (HR 0.83, 95 %CI 0.71-0.98, p=0.03) were independently associated with a lower risk of stroke/TE. Neither the presence of bioprosthesis nor the location of bioprosthesis was independent predictor for TE events. In conclusion, AF patients with bioprosthesis had a non-significantly higher risk of stroke/TE events compared to patients with non-valvular AF. Second, the CHA2DS2-VASc score was independently associated with an increased risk of TE events, and was a valuable determinant of TE risk both in AF patients with non-valvular AF as well as those with bioprosthesis, whether treated or not treated with OAC.

Background The CHA₂DS₂-VASc score has been validated for stroke risk prediction in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). Antithrombotic therapy is not recommended for low-risk patients with AF (CHA₂DS₂-VASc 0 [male] or 1 [female]). We studied a cohort of initially low-risk patients with AF in relation to their development of incident comorbidities and their treatment on oral anticoagulation therapy. Methods and Results We assessed data from 14 441 low-risk patients with AF (CHA₂DS₂-VASc score of 0 [male] or 1 [female]) using the Korean National Health Insurance Service database, in relation to their development of incident stroke risk factors and adverse outcomes. The clinical end point was the occurrence of ischemic stroke, major bleeding, all-cause death, or the composite outcome (ischemic stroke + major bleeding + all-cause death). In our cohort, 2615 (29.1%) male and 1650 (30.3%) female patients acquired at least 1 new stroke risk factor during a mean follow-up of 2.0 years. Among the patients with an increasing CHA₂DS₂-VASc score ≥1, male and female patients treated with oral anticoagulants had a significantly lower risk of ischemic stroke (male: hazard ratio [HR], 0.62 [95% CI, 0.44-0.82; <i>P</i>=0.003]; female: HR, 0.65 [95% CI, 0.47-0.84; <i>P</i>=0.007]), all-cause death (male: HR, 0.67 [95% CI, 0.49-0.88; <i>P</i>=0.009]; female: HR, 0.82 [95% CI, 0.63-1.02; <i>P</i>=0.185]), and composite outcomes (male: HR, 0.78 [95% CI, 0.61-0.95; <i>P</i>=0.042]; female: HR, 0.79 [95% CI, 0.62-0.96; <i>P</i>=0.045]) than patients not treated with oral anticoagulants. Conclusions Approximately 30% of patients acquired ≥1 stroke risk factor over a 2-year follow-up period. Low-risk patients with AF should be regularly reassessed to adequately identify those with incident stroke risk factors that would merit thromboprophylaxis for the prevention of stroke and the composite outcome.

Abstract The prothrombotic state in atrial fibrillation (AF) occurs as a result of multifaceted interactions, known as Virchow’s triad of hypercoagulability, structural abnormalities, and blood stasis. More recently, there is emerging evidence that lipoproteins are implicated in this process, beyond their traditional role in atherosclerosis. In this review, we provide an overview of the various lipoproteins and explore the association between lipoproteins and AF, the effects of lipoproteins on haemostasis, and the potential contribution of lipoproteins to thrombogenesis in AF. There are several types of lipoproteins based on size, lipid composition, and apolipoprotein category, namely: chylomicrons, very low-density lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), intermediate-density lipoprotein, and high-density lipoprotein. Each of these lipoproteins may contain numerous lipid species and proteins with a variety of different functions. Furthermore, the lipoprotein particles may be oxidized causing an alteration in their structure and content. Of note, there is a paradoxical inverse relationship between total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) levels, and incident AF. The mechanism by which this occurs may be related to the stabilizing effect of cholesterol on myocardial membranes, along with its role in inflammation. Overall, specific lipoproteins may interact with haemostatic pathways to promote excess platelet activation and thrombin generation, as well as inhibiting fibrinolysis. In this regard, LDL-C has been shown to be an independent risk factor for thromboembolic events in AF. The complex relationship between lipoproteins, thrombosis and AF warrants further research with an aim to improve our knowledge base and contribute to our overall understanding of lipoprotein-mediated thrombosis.

The choice of antithrombotic strategy in this context is challenging and requires tailored decision making with careful consideration of bleeding, thrombotic and ischemic risk for each patient. As the risk of thrombosis and bleeding varies from patient to patient, care is moving away from a 'one size fits all' therapy approach toward more individualized antithrombotic treatment.

This is a part of the Silesia Diabetes-Heart Project (Clinical-Trials.gov Identifier: NCT05626413).

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) may occur prior to or early in the course of acute pulmonary embolism (PE). The impact of AF on outcomes of patients with PE remains uncertain. Methods: Using the data from a large prospective multicenter registry of patients with objectively-confirmed PE (04/2014 to 01/2020), we identified three patient groups: 1) those with pre-existing AF 2) patients with newly identified AF within 2 days from the index PE (incident AF) and 3) patients without AF. We assessed the 90-day and 1-year risk of mortality and stroke in patients with AF, in unadjusted and multivariable adjusted models considering those without AF as referent. Results: Among 16,497 patients with PE, 792 had pre-existing AF. Compared with those without AF, patients with pre-existing AF, had increased odds of 90-day all-cause (Odds ratio [OR]: 2.81 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.33-3.38) and PE-related mortality (OR: 2.38, 95% CI: 1.37-4.14). After multivariable adjustment, pre-existing AF significantly increased the odds of all-cause mortality (OR: 1.91, 95% CI: 1.57-2.32) but not PE-related mortality (OR: 1.50; 95% CI: 0.85-2.66). Pre-existing AF was associated with increased hazard for ischemic stroke at 1-year follow-up (hazard ratio [HR]: 5.48; 95% CI: 3.10-9.69). Among 16,497 patients with PE, 445 developed incident AF within 2 days of acute PE. Incident AF was associated with increased odds of 90-day all-cause (OR: 2.28; 95% CI: 1.75-2.97) and PE-related (OR: 3.64; 95% CI: 2.01-6.59) mortality. Findings were similar in multivariable analyses and at 1-year follow-up (Figure). No patients with incident AF developed ischemic stroke. Conclusion: In patients with acute symptomatic PE, both pre-existing AF and incident AF predict an adverse clinical course, although the type of adverse outcomes may be different depending on the timing of AF onset.

High baseline adherence to a healthy lifestyle reduced the risk of ischemic and major cardiovascular events in AF patients.