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Catheter Ablation in Combination With Left Atrial Appendage Closure for Atrial Fibrillation
28:13

Catheter Ablation in Combination With Left Atrial Appendage Closure for Atrial Fibrillation

Published on: February 26, 2013

Atrial fibrillation significantly increases total mortality and stroke risk beyond that conveyed by the CHADS2 risk

Mark A Crandall1, Benjamin D Horne, John D Day

  • 1Department of Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA.

Pacing and Clinical Electrophysiology : PACE
|August 8, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Atrial fibrillation (AF) independently increases the risk of stroke, myocardial infarction, and death. The CHADS2 score also predicts these adverse cardiovascular events, confirming AF as a significant risk factor.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Clinical Research
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • Atrial fibrillation (AF) is linked to higher mortality and stroke rates.
  • The independent contribution of AF to these risks versus being a marker for other conditions remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether atrial fibrillation (AF) is an independent risk factor for adverse cardiovascular outcomes.
  • To evaluate the predictive power of the CHADS2 score in patients undergoing angiography.

Main Methods:

  • Studied consecutive patients without prior AF history undergoing angiography for suspected coronary artery disease.
  • Recorded traditional CHADS2 risk factors (congestive heart failure, hypertension, age, diabetes, stroke/TIA).

Main Results:

  • In 343 AF patients and 2,945 non-AF patients, AF was an independent predictor of stroke, myocardial infarction (MI), death, and major adverse cardiac events (MACE).
  • The CHADS2 score significantly and incrementally increased the risk of stroke, death, and MACE in both AF and non-AF groups.

Conclusions:

  • The CHADS2 score effectively predicts stroke and death.
  • Atrial fibrillation is confirmed as an independent risk factor for future cardiovascular disease, including stroke, MI, and mortality.
Abstract

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