Prevalence of atrial fibrillation and the HATCH score: Intensified monitoring of patients with high HATCH score.
OBJECTIVE
The HATCH score [hypertension, age > 75 years, previous transient ischemic attack (TIA) or stroke (doubled), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart failure (doubled)] has been established to identify patients who are at risk of developing persistent forms of AF. We investigated whether this score is associated with the prevalence of AF in order to guide diagnostic efforts and therapy.


METHODS
The data of 150,408 consecutive patients who were hospitalized at the University Hospital of Rostock between 2007 and 2012 were analyzed. Factors constituting the HATCH score and the presence of AF were prospectively documented using ICD-10 admission codes.


RESULTS
Patients were 67.6 ± 13.6 years of age with a mean HATCH score of 1.48 ± 1.02; 16 % had a history of AF and 4 % suffered a TIA or stroke. The prevalence of AF increased significantly with the HATCH score up to 60.0 % (p < 0.001). In all, 63 % of the patients had a HATCH score of 0 and 1 without any history of stroke.


CONCLUSIONS
The HATCH score correlates with the occurrence of AF, since the prevalence of AF rises with rising score values. Therefore, the HATCH score may be used to select patients for intensified ECG monitoring. Moreover, the score may also be used for stroke risk assessment, as none of the patients with a low HATCH score suffered a stroke.
Heart Center Rostock, Uniklinik Rostock, Ernst-Heydemann-Str. 6, 18057, Rostock, Germany.
Tina S
TS
Tischer
Ralph
R
Schneider
Jörg
J
Lauschke
Doreen
D
Diedrich
Günther
G
Kundt
Dietmar
D
Bänsch
D000368:Aged; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015984:Causality; D015897:Comorbidity; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D011379:Prognosis; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D020521:Stroke / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*