title: Effects of atrial fibrillation on long-term outcomes in patients hospitalized for heart failure in Japan: a report from the Japanese Cardiac Registry of Heart Failure in Cardiology (JCARE-CARD).
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common arrhythmia in patients with heart failure (HF), but its prognostic importance is controversial. The effect of AF on long-term outcomes, including mortality and rehospitalization, among unselected HF patients hospitalized with HF in routine clinical practice in Japan was assessed in the present study.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The Japanese Cardiac Registry of Heart Failure in Cardiology (JCARE-CARD) prospectively studied the characteristics and treatment strategies of a broad sample of patients hospitalized with worsening HF and the outcomes were followed with an average of 2.4 years of follow-up. The study cohort (n=2,659) was grouped according to the presence (n=937; 35.2%) or absence (n=1,722; 64.8%) of AF at baseline. After multivariable adjustment, patients with and without AF had a comparable risk for all-cause death (adjusted hazard ratio (HR) 0.931, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.690-1.258, P=0.643), cardiac death (adjusted HR 0.949, 95%CI 0.655-1.377, P=0.784), rehospitalization because of the worsening HF (adjusted HR 1.028, 95%CI 0.816-1.295, P=0.816), and all-cause death or rehospitalization (adjusted HR 1.039, 95%CI 0.842-1.281, P=0.722).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Among patients hospitalized for HF in Japan, AF was common, but was not an independent risk for long-term adverse outcomes, including death or rehospitalization, in routine clinical practice.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine.
authors.forename: Sanae
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hamaguchi
authors.forename: Hisashi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yokoshiki
authors.forename: Shintaro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kinugawa
authors.forename: Miyuki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tsuchihashi-Makaya
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yokota
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Takeshita
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tsutsui
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000209:etiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D016208:Databases, Factual; D005260:Female; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000150:complications* / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012042:Registries; D012307:Risk Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome