New-Onset Atrial Fibrillation After Myocardial Infarction Increases Hospital Complications

(HealthDay News) – New-onset atrial fibrillation (AF) after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is strongly tied to in-hospital complications and higher short-term readmission rates, according to a study published in The American Journal of Cardiology.

Amartya Kundu, MD, from the University of Massachusetts in Worcester, and colleagues examined trends in AF in 6384 patients hospitalized with confirmed AMI between 1999 and 2011.

The researchers found that the overall incidence of AF complicating AMI was 10.8%. From 1999 to 2003, rates of new-onset AF increased (9.8% to 13.2%), and thereafter they decreased. Patients developing new-onset AF after AMI were at a higher risk for in-hospital stroke (odds ratio [OR]: 2.5), heart failure (OR: 2), cardiogenic shock (OR: 3.7), and death (OR: 2.3), compared with patients without AF. Higher readmission rates within 30 days of discharge were also seen in patients who developed AF during hospitalization for AMI (21.7% vs 16% in patients without AF).

“New-onset AF after AMI is strongly related to in-hospital complications of AMI and higher short-term readmission rates,” the authors write.

Reference

1. Kundu A, O’Day K, Shaikh AY, et al. Relation of atrial fibrillation in acute myocardial infarction to in-hospital complications and early hospital readmission. Am J Cardiol. 2016. doi:10.1016/j.amjcard.2016.01.012.