Atrial flutter was associated with a significantly lower one-year risk of stroke or systemic thromboembolism readmission compared to atrial fibrillation (aHR 0.79).
Cohort (n=231,102)
Yes
Does atrial flutter confer a lower risk of stroke or systemic thromboembolism readmission compared to atrial fibrillation in hospitalized adults?
Hospitalization for atrial flutter is associated with a 21% lower adjusted risk of 1-year readmission for stroke or systemic thromboembolism compared to atrial fibrillation, suggesting the thromboembolic risk profiles of these arrhythmias may differ.
Hazard Ratio: 0.79 (95% CI 0.66–0.95)
Absolute Event Rate: 1.4% vs 2.1%
p-value: p=0.01
Background Although atrial fibrillation (AF) and atrial flutter (AFL) are different arrhythmias, they are assumed to confer the same risk of stroke and systemic thromboembolism (STE) despite a lack of available evidence. In this study, we investigated the difference in the risk of stroke or STE after AF and AFL hospitalizations. Methodology The National Readmission Database (NRD) 2018 was used to identify AF and AFL patients using appropriate International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM) codes and were followed until the end of the calendar year to identify stroke or STE readmissions. Survival estimates were calculated, and a Cox proportional hazards model was used to calculate the adjusted hazards ratio (aHR) and compare the risk of stroke or STE readmissions between AF and AFL groups. Results A total of 215,810 AF and 15,292 AFL patients were identified. AFL patients were more likely to be younger (66 vs. 70 years), male (68% vs. 47%), and had higher prevalence of obesity (25% vs. 22%), obstructive sleep apnea (14% vs. 12%), diabetes mellitus (31% vs. 26%), and alcohol use (6.9% vs. 5.5%) (all p < 0.01). After adjusting for potential patient and hospital-level characteristics, there was a statistically significant decrease in one-year stroke or STE readmission risk in AFL patients compared to AF patients (aHR 0.79 (0.66-0.95); p = 0.01). Conclusions AFL patients are commonly younger males with a higher burden of medical comorbidity. There is a decrease in the one-year risk of stroke or STE events in AFL patients compared to AF. The predictors of stroke and STE are similar in both AFL and AF groups. Further studies with longer follow-up and anticoagulation data are needed to verify the results.
Thyagaturu et al. (2022) conducted a cohort in Atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter (n=231,102). Atrial flutter vs. Atrial fibrillation was evaluated on One-year stroke or systemic thromboembolism readmission (aHR 0.79, 95% CI 0.66-0.95, p=0.01). Atrial flutter was associated with a significantly lower one-year risk of stroke or systemic thromboembolism readmission compared to atrial fibrillation (aHR 0.79).