Purpose
The prognostic impact of new-onset atrial fibrillation (NOAF) among different heart failure (HF) subtypes including HF with preserved (HFpEF, ejection fraction [EF] ≥50%), mid-range (HFmrEF, EF 40%~49%), and reduced (HFrEF, EF <40%) EF following acute myocardial infarction (AMI) remains unclear. We aimed to investigate the incidence and prognostic implication of post-MI NOAF across HF subtypes.
Patients and Methods
We included 1413 patients with post-MI HF (743 with HFpEF, 342 with HFmrEF and 328 with HFrEF) between February 2014 and March 2018. NOAF was considered as patients without a preexisting AF who developed AF during the AMI hospitalization. The primary endpoint was all-cause mortality.
Results
Of 1413 patients (mean age 66.8 ± 12.6 years, 72.9% men) analyzed, 200 (14.2%) developed post-MI NOAF. Patients with HFrEF were more likely to experience NOAF compared to those with HFmrEF or HFrEF (18.9%, 13.7% and 12.2% in HFrEF, HFmrEF and HFpEF, respectively; p for trend = 0.006). During a median follow-up of 28.5 months, 192 patients died (70 with HFrEF, 35 with HFmrEF and 87 with HFpEF) and 195 patients experienced HF rehospitalization (79 with HFrEF, 37 with HFmrEF and 79 with HFpEF). After multivariable adjustment, NOAF was independently associated with all-cause mortality (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.79, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.03–3.12) only in the HFrEF group compared to sinus rhythm (SR), whereas an increased risk of HF rehospitalization was found in all HF subtypes, particularly in HFmrEF (HR: 5.08, 95% CI: 2.29–11.25) and HFpEF (HR: 2.83 95% CI: 1.64–4.90).
Conclusion
In patients with post-MI HF, NOAF carried a worse prognosis for all-cause death in the HFrEF group and for HF rehospitalization in all HF subtypes.
Background: New-onset atrial fibrillation (NOAF) is a common complication during acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and sometimes can be completely asymptomatic, but the clinical implications of these asymptomatic episodes require further characterization. The objective of this study was to investigate the short- and long-term prognostic impact of post-MI NOAF based on the presence of AF-related symptoms.Methods: The New-Onset Atrial Fibrillation Complicating Acute Myocardial Infarction in ShangHai (NOAFCAMI-SH) registry was a retrospective cohort including participants with AMI without a documented history of AF. Patients with NOAF were divided into two groups according to the AF-related symptoms. The primary endpoint was all-cause mortality.Results: Of 2,399 patients included, 278 (11.6%) developed NOAF of whom 145 (6.0%) with asymptomatic episodes and 133 (5.5%) with symptomatic ones. During hospitalization, 148 patients died [106, 10, and 32 in the sinus rhythm (SR), asymptomatic, and symptomatic NOAF groups, respectively]. After multivariable adjustment, only symptomatic NOAF was associated with in-hospital mortality [odds ratio (OR): 2.32, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.36–3.94] compared with SR. Over a median follow-up of 2.7 years, all-cause mortality was 3.2, 12.4, and 11.8% per year in the SR, asymptomatic, and symptomatic NOAF groups, respectively. After adjustment for confounders, it was the asymptomatic NOAF [hazard ratio (HR): 1.61, 95% CI: 1.09–2.37) rather than the symptomatic one (HR: 1.37, 95% CI: 0.88–2.12) that was significantly related to mortality. Similar results were also observed for cardiovascular mortality [HRs and 95% CI were 1.71 (1.10–2.67) and 1.25 (0.74–2.11) for asymptomatic and symptomatic NOAF, respectively]. Both asymptomatic and symptomatic NOAF episodes were associated with heart failure, whereas only those with symptomatic NOAF were at heightened risk of ischemic stroke. Our exploratory analysis further identified patients with asymptomatic high-burden NOAF as the highest-risk population (mortality: 19.6% per year).Conclusion: Among patients with AMI, symptomatic NOAF is related to in-hospital mortality and asymptomatic NOAF is associated with poor long-term survival.Registration: URL: https://clinicaltrials.gov/; Unique identifier: NCT03533543.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.