Arrhythmias & electrophysiology
Risk for Stroke After Newly Diagnosed Atrial Fibrillation During Hospitalization for Other Primary Diagnoses : A Retrospective Cohort Study
Authors' conclusion
Among patients with newly diagnosed AF during hospitalization for other causes, a substantial proportion with low CHA2DS2-VA scores receive anticoagulation, with modest increases in this proportion at higher scores. The stroke risk in patients with CHA2DS2-VA scores greater than 4 approximated the 2% threshold commonly used to initiate anticoagulation in AF.
Study context
- Population
- Patients aged 66 years or older discharged alive from the hospital between April 2013 and March 2023 with a first diagnosis of atrial fibrillation (AF), newly diagnosed during hospitalization for other causes; Ontario, Canadapatients with AF diagnosed while hospitalized for other causes · noncardiac medical 8,340 · cardiac surgical 7,097 · noncardiac surgical 3,553 · cardiac medical 1,649
- Participants
- 20,639 patients
- Exposure
- Newly diagnosed AF during hospitalization for other causes, categorized into cardiac medical, noncardiac medical, cardiac surgical, and noncardiac surgical
- Cardiac medicaln = 1,649
- Noncardiac medicaln = 8,340
- Cardiac surgicaln = 7,097
- Noncardiac surgicaln = 3,553
- Outcome
- Hospitalization for stroke (1-year risk without anticoagulation)
- Follow-up
- 1 year
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Anticoagulant dispensation by CHA2DS2-VA score · 1 year
- CHA2DS2-VA scores of 1 to 4
- 26.4%
- CHA2DS2-VA scores of 5 to 8
- 35.2%
1-year stroke risk without anticoagulation by CHA2DS2-VA score
- CHA2DS2-VA scores of 1 to 4
- 0.7% (CI, 0.6% to 1.0%)
- CHA2DS2-VA scores of 5 to 8
- 1.8% (CI, 1.4% to 2.2%)
Original publication
Risk for Stroke After Newly Diagnosed Atrial Fibrillation During Hospitalization for Other Primary Diagnoses : A Retrospective Cohort Study. Ann Intern Med. Published 22 April 2025. doi:10.
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it