Temporal pattern and costs of rehospitalization in atrial fibrillation/atrial flutter patients with one or more additional risk factors

Figures & data

Figure 1.  Patient identification and selection. AF, atrial fibrillation; AFL, atrial flutter; ARF, additional risk factor(s); ESRD, end-stage renal disease; HF, heart failure.

Table 1.  Baseline demographic and clinical characteristics of AF/AFL patients with ≥1 ARF.

AF/AFL patients with ≥1 ARF (n = 3498)
Male, n (%)	1484 (42.4)
Age, years, mean (SD)	80.0 (7.6)
Age group, n (%)
70–74 years	889 (25.4)
75–79 years	1075 (30.7)
≥80 years	1534 (43.9)
Region, n (%)
East	800 (22.9)
Midwest	1462 (41.8)
South	345 (9.9)
West	891 (25.5)
CV co-morbidities, n (%)
Hypertension	3119 (89.2)
Stroke/TIA	546 (15.6)
Diabetes	839 (24.0)
PVD	324 (9.3)
CAD	1212 (34.6)
Thyroid diseases	610 (17.4)
Pulmonary diseases	544 (15.6)
VHD	592 (16.9)
Cardiomyopathy	148 (4.2)
CCI, mean (SD)	1.7 (1.8)
CCI scores, n (%)
0	1008 (28.8)
1–2	1587 (45.4)
3–4	672 (19.2)
5–6	231 (6.6)
CHADS, mean (SD)	2.2 (1.0)
CHADS scores, n (%)
0	1 (0.03)
1–2	2530 (72.3)
3–4	878 (25.1)
5–6	89 (2.5)

AF, atrial fibrillation; AFL, atrial flutter; ARF, additional risk factor(s); CCI, Charlson co-morbidity index; CHADS, CHADS₂ index (Congestive heart failure, history of Hypertension, Age ≥75 years, Diabetes mellitus, and past history of Stroke or TIA); CAD, coronary artery disease; PVD, peripheral vascular disease; SD, standard deviation; TIA, transient ischemic attack; VHD, valvular heart disease.

Figure 2.  Rehospitalization rates (percentage of patients) for all-cause rehospitalizations, among all AF/AFL patients with ≥1 ARF (n = 3498). AF, atrial fibrillation; AFL, atrial flutter; CV, cardiovascular. *Includes AF/AFL-related rehospitalizations.

Figure 3.  Mean (± SD) number of readmissions per patient among the sub-group of rehospitalized AF/AFL patients with ≥1 ARF (n = 1389). AF, atrial fibrillation; AFL, atrial flutter; CV, cardiovascular. *Includes AF/AFL-related rehospitalizations.

Table 2.  Specific causes of readmission with a CV-related primary diagnosis among AF/AFL patients with ≥1 ARF.

CV cause	Readmissions, n	Percentage
AF/AFL	521	47.5%
CHF	109	9.9%
Coronary atherosclerosis	81	7.4%
TIA/stroke	68	6.2%
Blood pressure-related	47	4.3%
AMI/ICS	35	3.2%
Ventricular arrhythmia	5	0.5%
Major bleeding	9	0.8%
Supraventricular rhythm disorder	3	0.3%
Venous thromboembolism	2	0.2%
Angina pectoris/chest pain	2	0.2%
Other CV events	215	19.6%
Total	1097	100%

AF, atrial fibrillation; AFL, atrial flutter; AMI, acute myocardial infarction; ARF, additional risk factor(s); CHF, congestive heart failure; CV, cardiovascular; ICS, intermediate coronary syndrome; TIA, transient ischemic attack.

Figure 4.  Cumulative percentage of AF/AFL patients with ≥1 ARF who were not readmitted during the post-index follow-up period. AF, atrial fibrillation; AFL, atrial flutter; CV, cardiovascular. *Includes AF/AFL-related rehospitalizations.

Figure 5.  (a) Mean ± SD costs in US dollars and (b) days of hospitalization, for the first readmission during the post-index period vs the index event. AF, atrial fibrillation; AFL, atrial flutter; US, United States. *p < 0.0001 vs index event.