title: Sustained pre-hypertensive blood pressure and incident atrial fibrillation: the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.
abstract: The association between sustained pre-hypertension and atrial fibrillation (AF) has not been thoroughly examined. This study included 5311 participants (mean age 62 ± 10 years; 47% male; 42.9% non-whites) from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. Sustained exposure was based on 2 or more visits within the same blood pressure category (optimal, <120/80 mm Hg; pre-hypertension, 120-139/80-89 mm Hg; hypertension, ≥140/90 mm Hg or antihypertensive medication use) during visits 1, 2, and 3. Cox regression was used to compute hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the association between blood pressure category and AF. Over a median follow-up of 5.3 years, 182 (3.4%) participants developed AF. Pre-hypertension and hypertension were associated with an increased risk of AF compared with participants who had optimal blood pressure (optimal: HR, 1.0; referent; pre-hypertension: HR, 1.8; 95% CI, 1.004-3.2; hypertension: HR, 2.6; 95% CI, 1.6-4.4). Sustained pre-hypertension is associated with an increased risk of AF.
authors: Department of Internal Medicine, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA. Electronic address: woneal@wakehealth.edu.
authors: Wesley T
authors: WT
authors: O'Neal
authors: Department of Internal Medicine, Section on Cardiology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA; Epidemiological Cardiology Research Center (EPICARE), Department of Epidemiology and Prevention, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA.
authors: Elsayed Z
authors: EZ
authors: Soliman
authors: Department of Internal Medicine, Section on Cardiology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA.
authors: Waqas
authors: W
authors: Qureshi
authors: Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
authors: Alvaro
authors: A
authors: Alonso
authors: Cardiovascular Health Research Unit and, Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington, and Group Health Research Institute, Seattle, WA, USA.
authors: Susan R
authors: SR
authors: Heckbert
authors: Department of Internal Medicine, Section on Cardiology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA.
authors: David
authors: D
authors: Herrington
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000208:ethnology*; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D001795:Blood Pressure Determination / Q000379:methods; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D058246:Prehypertension / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D000959:Antihypertensive Agents
keywords: Arrhythmia; epidemiology; hypertension; risk factors