Sex Differences in Outcomes After Discharge from the Emergency Department for Atrial Fibrillation/Flutter

Atrial fibrillation and flutter (AFF) are the most common arrhythmias presenting to emergency departments (EDs). We examined sex differences in outcomes for patients with AFF discharged from the ED in Alberta, Canada.

ED presentations for AFF during 1999-2011 that ended in discharge were extracted from administrative databases for all Alberta residents (age ≥ 35 years). Multivariable models determined the effect of sex on the time to ED return for AFF, the first follow-up visit with a physician, the first follow-up visit with a specialist (cardiologist or internal medicine physician), and death.

There were 21,062 patients/ED presentations (47.5% women). About 10% returned to the ED for AFF after discharge; the time to return was similar for both sexes (P = 0.39). Time to a first physician visit was shorter (unadjusted hazard ratio [uHR] = 1.10) and time to a specialist follow-up visit was longer (uHR = 0.93) for women than for men. Interactions between sex and age, socioeconomic groups, and comorbidities were identified that changed the effect of sex on time to follow-up. More women died by 30 (1.3% vs 0.9%; P = 0.009) and 90 (2.9% vs 2.4%, P = 0.02) days. The time between ED discharge and death was shorter for women in 1 socioeconomic group (P = 0.008) and for those with peripheral vascular disease (P = 0.02) or diabetes (P = 0.03).

We identified sex differences for time to return to the ED, follow-up visit, and death (most importantly, increased mortality rates among women at 30 and 90 days), and time to death remained significant after adjustment for other demographic and health-related variables. Our findings have important potential implications for physicians in the emergency setting.