Association of New-Onset Atrial Fibrillation With All-Cause Mortality in COVID-19 Patients

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about unprecedented global health challenges, with its impact extending beyond respiratory manifestations to encompass cardiovascular complications, including arrhythmias. Dysrhythmias in COVID-19 are multifactorial, ranging from direct myocardial insult due to the cytokine storm to metabolic derangements. Objective In this study, we aim to examine the incidence of new-onset atrial fibrillation and to study its association with all-cause mortality of COVID-19. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted at Cabell Huntington Hospital, West Virginia, utilizing electronic medical records of COVID-19 patients from 2020 to 2021. Inclusion criteria comprised patients aged >18 years with COVID-19 diagnosis and cardiac arrhythmias during hospitalization. Logistic regression analysis was employed to examine the relationship between demographic and clinical variables and in-hospital mortality. Results Of the 264 eligible patients, those aged >66 years had lower odds of in-hospital mortality (p < 0.001), while gender, ejection fraction, and diabetes mellitus did not significantly predict mortality. Atrial fibrillation (p = 0.011) and heart failure (p = 0.030) were associated with increased odds of mortality, while hypertension showed no significant predictive power (p = 0.791). Conclusion This study highlights the significance of atrial fibrillation and heart failure as predictors of in-hospital mortality in COVID-19 patients. Our findings underscore the importance of recognizing and managing arrhythmias in COVID-19 and call for further research on the mechanisms and long-term effects of these cardiac complications in the context of the pandemic. These insights can guide clinical practice and interventions to optimize patient outcomes.