Background
The association of atrial fibrillation (AF) with the severity and control of hypertension (HTN) remains unclear.
Methods
We analyzed data from the national biracial cohort of REasons for Geographic And Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study. The AF prevalence ratios were estimated and full multi-variable adjustment included demographics, risk factors, medication adherence, HTN duration and antihypertensive medication classes.
Results
Of the 30,018 study participants (8.6% with AF), 4,386 had normotension (4.3% with AF), 5,916 had prehypertension (4.3 with AF%), 12,294 had controlled HTN (11.2% with AF), 5,587 had uncontrolled HTN (8.1% with AF), 547 had controlled apparent treatment resistant hypertension (aTRH) (19.2% with AF), and 1288 had uncontrolled aTRH (15.5% with AF). Compared with normotension, the AF prevalence ratios for prehypertension, controlled HTN, uncontrolled HTN, controlled aTRH and uncontrolled aTRH groups in fully adjusted model were 1.01 (95% CI 0.84 – 1.21), 1.42 (1.18 – 1.71), 1.37 (1.14 – 1.65), 1.17 (0.86 – 1.58) and 1.42 (1.10 – 1.84) respectively (p < 0.001).
Conclusion
The prevalence of AF was similar among persons with HTN regardless of BP level and antihypertensive treatment resistance.