The prevalence and predictors of Stroke among atrial fibrillation patients attending at Gondar University Referral Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia

INTRODUCTION: Recently, stroke is becoming the major public health problem in developing countries including Ethiopia. Atrial fibrillation patients are the most vulnerable group for the occurrence of stroke. Knowing the predictors and being aware for it is important for preventing severe complications and death. Therefore, the aim of this study is to assess the prevalence of stroke and identifying significant predictors. METHODS: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was performed from 1 December 2018 to 30 September 2019 at University of Gondar Referral Hospital. A total of 242 patients with atrial fibrillation were included in the study. Atrial fibrillation patients were diagnosed by using 12 lead electrocardiographic tracing, in addition to thorough medical history and physical examination and analyzed by the Modular ECG Analysis System (MEANS). We used Epi info 7 and SPSS version 22 software for data entry and analysis purpose, respectively. Both bivariable and multivariable binary logistic regression model were computed to show the relationship of dependent and independent variables. RESULT: The prevalence of stroke among atrial fibrillation patients was 19.4% (95% confidence interval (CI): 14.9-25.2). Patients with heart failure (adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 5.70, 95% CI: 2.50-13.24) and thyroid disorder (AOR: 4.98, 95% CI: 1.47-16.85) are at risk of developing stroke. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of stroke was higher compared with others studies. Patients with heart failure and thyroid disorders were the risk factor for the development of stroke; therefore, physicians and cardiologists may better to consider all these two disorders when they diagnose stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation.