Atrial Fibrillation more prominent in younger people, finds study

Atrial fibrillation disrupts the heart's rhythm, leading to irregular and often faster heartbeats. This can cause blood to pool in the heart's chambers, increasing the risk of blood clots and stroke. It can also weaken the heart muscle over time, leading to heart failure and other cardiovascular complications.

In the study, researchers analysed electronic health records of 67,221 patients from UPMC Heart and Vascular Institute seeking care for atrial fibrillation from 2010 through 2019 and found that more than a quarter of them (17,335) were under the age of 65.

The team also found that over the course of a decade, survival rates for those with the arrhythmia were 1.3 to 1.5 times worse for men with atrial fibrillation, and 1.82 to 3.16 times worse for women, compared to similarly aged patients who did not have atrial fibrillation The patients studied also had high rates of cardiovascular disease risk factors, including smoking, obesity, hypertension and sleep apnea, which contribute to damaging structural and electrical changes in the heart over time.

“Common knowledge among cardiologists is that, in people under 65, Afib is extremely uncommon and not detrimental. But there hasn’t been any data to back that up,” said lead author Dr. Aditya Bhonsale, M.D., M.H.S, a UPMC cardiac electrophysiologist in HVI’s Division of Cardiology.

The findings suggested that patients with atrial fibrillation aged <65 years have significant comorbidity burden and considerable long-term mortality. They are also at a significantly increased risk of hospitalization for heart failure, stroke, and myocardial infarction.

Reference: Aditya Bhonsale, et al; Mortality, Hospitalization, and Cardiac Interventions in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation Aged <65 Years; Circulation Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology; https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCEP.123.012143