Hospitalizations for atrial fibrillation increasing at dramatic rate

Hospitalizations for atrial fibrillation have more than doubled in recent years, researchers at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report, presaging a “staggering burden” on the Medicare system.

Hospitalizations for atrial fibrillation have more than doubled in recent years, researchers at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report, presaging a “staggering burden” on the Medicare system. Dr. George A. Mensah and colleagues in Atlanta, Georgia, analyzed data from the National Hospital Discharge Survey for the period from 1985 through 1999. They discuss their findings in the early online issue of Circulation: Journal of The American Heart Association, slated for publication on August 12. The prevalence of hospitalizations for atrial fibrillation as the principle diagnosis rose from 154,096 to 376,487, which the authors estimate to be a 144.3% relative increase. More often, atrial fibrillation was a secondary diagnosis accompanying, for example, essential hypertension, ischemic heart disease, congestive heart failure and diabetes mellitus. The number of such cases increased from 787,750 to 2,283,673, a relative increase of 189.9%.For individuals age 35 to 54, the increase in prevalence over time was minor. However, more than 50% of hospitalizations were in people age 75 and older, and the number of hospitalizations increased more among successive age groups. Older individuals were also increasingly more likely to be discharged to long-term care facilities.Dr. Mensah’s group points out that new treatment approaches, including surgery, catheter ablation, and implantable devices, will prevent many cases of recurrent atrial fibrillation. They stress that anticoagulation therapy and prevention of atrial fibrillation are imperative for prevention of stroke in this patient population, while warning that the public health burden will be reduced only by prevention and treatment of modifiable risk factors.(Source: Circulation 2003;108: Reuters Health: 28th July 2003)