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Published on: February 26, 2013

Blood pressure control and risk of incident atrial fibrillation

M C Thomas1, S Dublin, R C Kaplan

  • 1Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. mct77@u.washington.edu

American Journal of Hypertension
|August 30, 2008
PubMed

Insights

Blood pressure control is crucial for preventing atrial fibrillation (AF). Both uncontrolled high blood pressure and very low systolic blood pressure (SBP) increase AF risk in hypertensive patients.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Hypertension Management
  • Arrhythmia Research

Background:

  • Atrial fibrillation (AF) affects over 2 million Americans.
  • Hypertension is a common comorbidity associated with AF.
  • The impact of blood pressure control on incident AF risk is not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between blood pressure control and the risk of new-onset atrial fibrillation.
  • To determine if varying degrees of systolic and diastolic blood pressure control influence AF incidence in hypertensive patients.

Main Methods:

  • A population-based, case-control study.
  • Included 433 patients with verified incident AF and 899 controls, all treated for hypertension.
  • Average systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were calculated from recent measurements.

Main Results:

  • Elevated SBP (≥140 mm Hg) was associated with increased AF risk (ORs ranging from 1.40 to 2.27).
  • SBP <120 mm Hg also showed an increased risk (OR 1.99).
  • An estimated 17.2% of incident AF cases in treated hypertensive patients were attributable to SBP ≥140 mm Hg.

Conclusions:

  • Uncontrolled elevated SBP is linked to a higher risk of developing AF.
  • Even SBP below 120 mm Hg was associated with increased AF risk in this population.
  • Optimal blood pressure targets may be critical for AF prevention in hypertensive individuals.
Abstract

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