High Prevalence of Atrial Fibrillation in Elderly Patients Hospitalized with Heart Failure

Background: Atrial Fibrillation (AF) is a common condition in the elderly and often occurs together with Heart Failure (HF). The differences between elderly patients with HF according to the presence or absence of AF were analysed. Material and methods: Patient data were collected from consecutively admitted patients 75 years of age and older with acute decompensated HF from the Spanish National Heart Failure Registry (RICA) with data retrieved from internal medicine settings. Results: Of a total of 1,473 patients (mean age 82.16 years), AF was present at enrolment in 851 (57.8%). Patients with AF had a higher Charlson index (3.76 vs. 3.46; p=0.03), lower Barthel index (80.15 vs. 82.8; p=0.03), more preserved EF (74.6% vs. 66.4; p=0.001), and more advanced NYHA functional classes IIIIV (46.8% vs. 34.9%; p<0.001). Nearly 75% of AF patients were on anticoagulant therapy (25.2% in patients with no AF). One-year mortality was higher in AF patients, but statistical significance was not reached. In the multivariate analysis, Charlson index, systolic blood pressure, haemoglobin levels and functional class were associated with one-year mortality. Conclusions: In our hospitalized cohort of elderly patients with HF, AF prevalence was very high. These patients were more symptomatic, but AF was not associated with one-year mortality.