One‐Year Outcome of Japanese Patients With Atrial Fibrillation: Insights From APHRS ‐ AF Registry

Background The Asia‐Pacific Heart Rhythm Society Atrial Fibrillation (APHRS‐AF) Registry is a prospective study in Asian metropolitan cities, which provides important information on the baseline characteristics, therapeutic patterns, and 1‐year clinical outcomes in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). This report describes data from Japanese patients recruited in this registry. Methods and Results A total of 4666 patients with AF were enrolled. Of these, 794 patients were recruited from 28 large cardiovascular centers in Japan between 2015 and 2017. We analyzed 1‐year follow‐up outcome of these patients. Mean age at recruitment was 65.7 years and 69.0% were males. Major comorbidities were hypertension (37.5%), lipid disorder (29.0%), heart failure (15.9%), and diabetes mellitus (15.0%). Mean CHADS2 score, CHA2DS2‐VASc score, and HAS‐BLED score were 1.0, 2.0, and 1.1, respectively. At baseline, use of oral anticoagulants was 81%, including 7% prescribed a vitamin K antagonist (VKA) and 74% a direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC). Majority of the patients ( N = 459, 57.8%) were planned to undergo catheter ablation. One‐year follow‐up was conducted in 743 patients. One‐year all‐cause mortality was 0.1% ( n = 1) and the incidence of stroke/thromboembolic events was also 0.1% ( n = 1). Major bleeding events were observed in 5 patients (0.7%), including 3 intracranial hemorrhages. Conclusion In this 1‐year analysis, a high prevalence of oral anticoagulant use was recorded. A low mortality rate and a low incidence of stroke/thromboembolic events were observed in Japanese patients of the APHRS‐AF Registry.