Background:
The CHADS-VASC score does not incorporate renal dysfunction in stroke risk assessment in patients with atrial fibrillation and the prevalence of atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, and cerebrovascular accidents (CVA) in patients with concurrent CHF and CKD is not well investigated.
Objective:
Evaluate the prevalence of history of stroke, atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter in patients with CHF and CKD.
Methods:
Data from the single institution Get With The Guidelines- Heart Failure (GWG-HF) cohort of 2938 consecutive inpatients with known GFR was utilized. CHADS-VASC score was calculated from the GWG-HF variables. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) was defined as GFR <60 ml/min.
Results:
An overwhelming majority (95%) of GWG-HF patients had elevated >1 CHADS-VASC score, which was also significantly more common in patients with CKD (97.6% vs. 91.7% in patients without CKD, p<0.0001). Average CHADS-VASC score was also significantly increased in patients with CKD (4+/-1.3 vs. 3.3+/-1.4, p<0.0001). Furthermore, CKD was associated with increased prevalence of atrial fibrillation and/or flutter (45.6% vs. 35.3%, p<0.0001) and stroke history (17.5% vs. 12.3%, p=0.002). When stroke and TIA histories were removed from the CHADS-VASC score ("CHAD-VASC score"), the remaining variables were strongly predictive of stroke or TIA (14.2% vs. 3.8%, p<0.0001). In multivariate logistic regression analysis, both CHAD-VASC score (OR 2.6, 95%CI 1.3-5.4, p=0.009) and CKD (OR 1.5, 95%CI 1.2-1.8, p=0.001) were associated significantly increased odds of prior stroke or TIA.
Conclusions:
In patients admitted with heart failure, CKD is associated with increased prevalence of atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter as well as increased prevalence of CVA/TIA. Further prospective studies are warranted to examine whether CKD history should be included in stroke risk assessment in patients with atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter, in conjunction with existing risk assessment frameworks.
How well does physician risk assessment predict stroke and bleeding in atrial fibrillation? Results from the Outcomes Registry for Better Informed Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation (ORBIT-AF)
