Atrial fibrillation and stroke in elderly hospitalized patients.
Of 4100 consecutive admissions to the Department of Geriatric Medicine, 414 patients (10.1%) were identified as having atrial fibrillation (AF); 138 (33%) had transient AF and 276 (67%) had constant AF. In the constant group, 41.7% of patients had had a stroke compared with 26.8% in the transient group (P less than 0.01). A random sample of 200 patients in sinus rhythm from the 4100 admissions had a stroke prevalence of 19%. This study suggests that constant AF has a greater association with stroke than transient AF.
D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000150:complications*; D002561:Cerebrovascular Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012306:Risk