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Updated: Mar 11, 2026
Catheter Ablation in Combination With Left Atrial Appendage Closure for Atrial Fibrillation
Published on: February 26, 2013
Atrial fibrillation in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)
Tait D Shanafelt1, Sameer A Parikh1, Peter A Noseworthy2
1a Division of Hematology , Mayo Clinic , Rochester , MN , USA.
Insights
The study found that 6.1% of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients had atrial fibrillation (AF) at diagnosis. Incident AF occurred in 6.1% during follow-up, with risk factors including age, male sex, and hypertension.
Area of Science:
- Hematology
- Cardiology
- Oncology
Background:
- Preliminary data suggests ibrutinib may increase atrial fibrillation (AF) risk.
- The incidence of AF in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients is not well-established.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the prevalence of AF at CLL diagnosis.
- To assess the incidence of AF during follow-up in CLL patients.
- To identify risk factors for incident AF in CLL patients.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of 2444 newly diagnosed CLL patients.
- Evaluation of AF prevalence at diagnosis and incidence during follow-up.
- Multivariate analysis to identify predictors of incident AF.
Main Results:
- Prevalence of AF at CLL diagnosis was 6.1%.
- Incident AF developed in 6.1% of patients without prior AF (approx. 1%/year).
- Older age, male sex, valvular heart disease, and hypertension were significant risk factors for incident AF.
Conclusions:
- AF is common at CLL diagnosis and develops during follow-up.
- A predictive model stratifies CLL patients into risk groups for incident AF.
- Findings provide context for interpreting AF rates in CLL patients receiving novel therapies.
Abstract:
Although preliminary data suggests that ibrutinib may increase risk of atrial fibrillation (AF), the incidence of AF in a general cohort of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients is unknown. We evaluated the prevalence of AF at CLL diagnosis and incidence of AF during follow-up in 2444 patients with newly diagnosed CLL. A prior history of AF was present at CLL diagnosis in 148 (6.1%). Among the 2292 patients without history of AF, 139 (6.1%) developed incident AF during follow-up (incidence approximately 1%/year). Older age (p < .0001), male sex (p = .01), valvular heart disease (p = .001), and hypertension (p = .04) were associated with risk of incident AF on multivariate analysis. A predictive model for developing incident AF constructed from these factors stratified patients into 4 groups with 10-year rates of incident AF ranging from 4% to 33% (p < .0001). This information provides context for interpreting rates of AF in CLL patients treated with novel therapies.
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