Frequency of Atrial Fibrillation in Heart Failure Patients

Background: An increasing number of people around the world suffer from cardiovascular diseases such as atrial fibrillation (AF) and heart failure (HF). Atrial fibrillation (AF) has been linked to poor prognosis in heart failure (HF) patients with mild to moderate LV dysfunction, and it is most prominent in these patients. Despite advancements in care and treatment options like catheter ablation, managing AF is still a therapeutic challenge even with these advances. Aim/Objective: To determine the frequency of atrial fibrillation in heart failure patients. Subjects and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 246 patients at Adult Cardiology, NICVD, Karachi for Six months after approval from 31-08-2019 till 29-02-2020. Patients' consent was obtained verbally before data were collected prospectively. There were 246 patients with heart failure who had been diagnosed and met the diagnostic criteria. An overview of the event's history was gathered, as well as demographic data. Qualitative variables were presented as frequency and percentages, while quantitative data were given as simple descriptive statistics such as mean and standard deviation. A p-value of 0.05 or lower is considered statistically significant. Results: A total of 246 patients with heart failure were included in this study. The mean age in our study was 56.78±2.81 years. Whereas, mean BNP and ejection fraction in our study was 1144±87.81 pg./ml and 34.65±4.14 %. 136 (55.3%) were male and 110 (44.7%) were female. Out of 246 patients with heart failure, 52 (21.1%) had atrial fibrillation and 194 (78.9%) did not have atrial fibrillation. Conclusion: The results of this research demonstrated that a large percentage of heart failure patients had atrial fibrillation. Thus, it is essential to focus on a comprehensive way of management of heart failure and its comorbidities rather than primarily treating the cardiac symptoms. Keywords: Heart failure and atrial fibrillation.