Association Between Atrial Fibrillation and Long-term Mortality in Acute MI Patients

AF is a common complication of an acute MI (AMI) and goes along with adverse events. Nevertheless, the therapeutical guidelines and pharmacological possibilities have improved over the past years. Therefore, this contemporary study aimed to clarify the effect of AF on long-term mortality in patients with incident AMI.

This study included 2,313 patients aged 25-84 years with initial AMI that occurred from 2009 until 2017, documented within the population-based Augsburg Myocardial Infarction Registry. Patients were monitored from hospital admission, with a median follow-up duration of 4.5 years (interquartile range 4.4 years). Survival analysis and multivariable Cox regression analysis were conducted to explore the relationship between AF and long-term all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality.

Altogether, 156 individuals had AF on their admission ECG, while the remaining 2,157 presented with sinus rhythm (SR). Patients with AF were significantly older, more frequently had arterial hypertension, non-ST-segment elevation MI, worse kidney function, smaller AMIs, and were more often former and non-smokers. An increased long-term all-cause mortality was observed among the AF group. (AF patients 39.1%, SR group 16.7%), Upon multivariable adjustment, a HR of 1.40 (95% CI [1.05-1.87]; p=0.023) was calculated when comparing the AF with SR patients.

An independently increased risk of long-term mortality for patients with AF compared with patients with SR in case of incident AMI was identified. Therefore, AF should be considered as a serious risk factor in AMI patients, and must be treated aggressively to reduce mortality risk.