The Risk of Ischemic Stroke in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Atrial Fibrillation

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) and ischemic stroke (IS) are intricately linked to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Patients who suffer from both COPD and AF demonstrate a 2.85-fold greater risk of IS. However, the long-term risk remains insufficiently explored. Methods: This study utilized data from the Taiwanese National Health Insurance dataset spanning 2000 to 2015. Patients who were newly diagnosed with COPD, identified using the International Classification of Disease, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification [ICD-9-CM] codes of 491, 492, and 496 and diagnosed with AF (ICD-9-CM code 427.3), were included in the study. The measured events included ISs (ICD-9-CM codes 433–437). Multivariate Cox proportional hazard models were employed to evaluate IS risk factors in this longitudinal analysis. Results: The combined presence of COPD and AF increased the risk of IS, with an adjusted hazard ratio of 5.722 (95% CI: 2.737–8.856, p < 0.001), AF without COPD with an adjusted HR of 3.506 (95% CI: 1.459–5.977, p < 0.001), and COPD with AF with an adjusted HR of 2.215 (95% CI: 1.099–3.538, p < 0.001) compared with patients without COPD and AF. Elderly patients exhibited a greater burden of cardiovascular comorbidities, including obstructive sleep apnea, thus further compounding the risk of IS. Conclusions: The coexistence of COPD and AF was associated with a markedly elevated risk of IS. The result highlights the additive and synergistic contributions of COPD and AF to the risk for IS. Aggressive treatment may mitigate the risk of IS.