August 28, 2023European Journal of Internal MedicineOpen Access

Renin‐angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitors and mortality risk in elderly patients with atrial fibrillation. Insights from the nationwide START registry

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Why the study?

Arterial hypertension is the most common cardiovascular comorbidity in atrial fibrillation, but few studies have investigated hypertension management strategies in these patients.

Key Points

Key points are not available for this paper at this time.

Population

5769 AF patients on oral anticoagulants from the Italian START registry

Comparison

Prescription of antihypertensive drugs (including ACE-I and ARBs) vs non-use

Design

Nationwide ongoing registry study

Follow-up

22.61 ± 17.1 months

Implication

ACE inhibitors were associated with lower mortality in elderly AF on OAC; hypothesis-generating and requires RCT confirmation before practice change.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Arterial hypertension is the most common cardiovascular comorbidity in atrial fibrillation (AF). Few studies investigated management strategies of hypertension in AF. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We included 5769 AF patients on oral anticoagulants from the nationwide ongoing Italian START registry. We investigated the prescription of antihypertensive drugs and mortality risk. Subgroup analyses according to sex and major cardiovascular comorbidities were performed. RESULTS: Mean age was 80.8 years, 46.1% were women; 80.3% of patients were hypertensive. Furosemide (30.1%) was the most frequent diuretic followed by hydrochlorothiazide (15.4%) and potassium canrenoate (7.9%). 61.1% received β-blockers: 34.2% bisoprolol, 6.2% atenolol. Additionally, 36.9% were on angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE-I): ramipril (20.9%), enalapril (5.3%) and perindopril (2.8%); 31.7% were on angiotensin receptors blockers (ARBs): valsartan (7.6%) and irbesartan (6.4%). Amlodipine and lercanidipine were prescribed in 14.0% and 2.3%, respectively. ACE-I (p < 0.001), α-blockers (p = 0.020) and Dihydropyridines calcium channel blockers (p = 0.004) were more common in men, while ARBs (p = 0.008), thiazide diuretics (p < 0.001) and β-blockers (p < 0.001) in women. During 22.61 ± 17.1 months, 512 patients died. Multivariable Cox regression analysis showed that ACE-I (Hazard ratio [HR] 0.758, 95% Confidence Interval [95%CI] 0.612-0.940, p = 0.012) and ARBs (HR 0.623, 95%CI 0.487-0.796, p < 0.001) inversely associated with mortality. ACE-I/ARBs inversely associated with mortality in both sexes and in patients with diabetes. This associastion was evident for ACE-I in patients with previous cardiovascular disease, and for ARBs in HF. CONCLUSION: A lower mortality risk was found in AF patients on ACE-I/ARBs. Different prescription patterns of antihypertensive drugs between men and women do exist.