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New-Onset Atrial Fibrillation in Patients Hospitalized With COVID-19: Results From the American Heart Association COVID-19 Cardiovascular Registry

New-Onset Atrial Fibrillation in Patients Hospitalized With COVID-19: Results From the American Heart Association COVID-19 Cardiovascular Registry

Authors :
Anna G. Rosenblatt
Colby R. Ayers
Anjali Rao
Stacey J. Howell
Nicholas S. Hendren
Ronit H. Zadikany
Joseph E. Ebinger
James D. Daniels
Mark S. Link
James A. de Lemos
Sandeep R. Das
Source :
Circulation. Arrhythmia and electrophysiology. 15(5)
Publication Year :
2022

Abstract

Background: New-onset atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 has been reported and associated with poor clinical outcomes. We aimed to understand the incidence of and outcomes associated with new-onset AF in a diverse and representative US cohort of patients hospitalized with COVID-19. Methods: We used data from the American Heart Association COVID-19 Cardiovascular Disease Registry. Patients were stratified by the presence versus absence of new-onset AF. The primary and secondary outcomes were in-hospital mortality and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE; cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, stroke, cardiogenic shock, and heart failure). The association of new-onset AF and the primary and secondary outcomes was evaluated using Cox proportional-hazards models for the primary time to event analyses. Results: Of the first 30 999 patients from 120 institutions across the United States hospitalized with COVID-19, 27 851 had no history of AF. One thousand five hundred seventeen (5.4%) developed new-onset AF during their index hospitalization. New-onset AF was associated with higher rates of death (45.2% versus 11.9%) and MACE (23.8% versus 6.5%). The unadjusted hazard ratio for mortality was 1.99 (95% CI, 1.81–2.18) and for MACE was 2.23 (95% CI, 1.98–2.53) for patients with versus without new-onset AF. After adjusting for demographics, clinical comorbidities, and severity of disease, the associations with death (hazard ratio, 1.10 [95% CI, 0.99–1.23]) fully attenuated and MACE (hazard ratio, 1.31 [95% CI, 1.14–1.50]) partially attenuated. Conclusions: New-onset AF was common (5.4%) among patients hospitalized with COVID-19. Almost half of patients with new-onset AF died during their index hospitalization. After multivariable adjustment for comorbidities and disease severity, new-onset AF was not statistically significantly associated with death, suggesting that new-onset AF in these patients may primarily be a marker of other adverse clinical factors rather than an independent driver of mortality. Causality between the MACE composites and AF needs to be further evaluated.

Details

ISSN :
19413084
Volume :
15
Issue :
5
Database :
OpenAIRE
Journal :
Circulation. Arrhythmia and electrophysiology
Accession number :
edsair.doi.dedup.....293ee36d3260f6bc884d3a792cf7e2b7