Atrial fibrillation and risk of dementia in non-demented elderly subjects with and without mild cognitive impairment (MCI)

MCI is regarded as a precursor of dementia, but not all patients with MCI actually develop dementia. As Alzheimer and vascular dementia (AD and VD, respectively) are thought to share many common etiopathogenetic mechanisms, we investigated whether the vascular risk factor atrial fibrillation affect the risk of conversion to dementia for different MCI subtypes diagnosed according to international criteria. One-hundred-eighty elderly outpatients with MCI and 431 elderly outpatients with a normal cognition were followed-up for a mean of 3 and 4 years, respectively. The risk of conversion to dementia associated with atrial fibrillation was studied in both samples using a Cox proportional-hazards model adjusted for sociodemographic and medical variables. Overall conversion rate to dementia was 10.5 (8.0-13.8) per 100 person-years in the MCI group and 2.2 (1.5-3.1) per 100 person-years in the normal cognition group. Atrial fibrillation was significantly associated with conversion to dementia (hazard ratio=HR=4.63, 95% confidence interval=Cl=1.72-12.46) in the MCI group, but not in the cognitively normal group (HR=1.10, 95% Cl=0.40-3.03). Current diagnostic criteria for MCI subtypes define heterogeneous populations, but atrial fibrillation can be useful in identifying people with increased risk of conversion to dementia.     

Atrial fibrillation (AF) and co-morbidity in elderly. A population based survey of 85 years old subjects

The occurrence of AF increases sharply with age. The aim of this study was to explore and compare prevalent co-morbidity and self-estimated health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in subjects with AF versus subjects with sinus rhythm or pacemaker in 85 years old subjects. We analyzed data from a population of 336 eighty-five years old subjects participating in the Elderly in Linköping Screening Assessment (ELSA-85) study. Medical history was obtained from postal questionnaire, medical records and during medical examination that included a physical examination, cognitive tests, non-fasting venous blood samples and electrocardiographic (ECG) examination. 19% had an ECG showing AF. There were very few significant differences regarding medical history, self-estimated quality of life (QoL), laboratory- and examination findings and use of public health care between the AF group and the non-AF group. The study showed that the population of 85 years old subjects with AF was surprisingly healthy in terms of prevalent co-existing medical conditions, healthcare contacts and overall HRQoL. We conclude that elderly patients with AF do not in general have increased co-morbidity than subjects without AF.     

Atrial fibrillation in the elderly

Opinion statement Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained arrhythmia in adults, and its incidence and prevalence increase progressively with age. As a result, AF-associated morbidity and mortality increase with age. Therefore, because even asymptomatic AF markedly increases the risk of stroke and other embolic events, aggressive treatment is warranted in order to avoid the potentially devastating sequelae of this condition. Goals for the treatment of AF in the elderly population should primarily focus on alleviation of symptoms and prevention of strokes, while minimizing potential toxic effects of polypharmacy. Rate control should be optimized with atrioventricular (AV) nodal-blocking agents. The decision of anticoagulation should be individualized for each patient, balancing the risk of stroke against the risk for major bleeding complications. In elderly patients without symptoms, rate control and anticoagulation is the preferred method of treatment. Antiarrhythmic therapy to maintain sinus rhythm is generally reserved for patients with significant symptoms attributable to AF. However, simply maintaining sinus rhythm has not been proven to decrease stroke risk; therefore, longterm anticoagulation is recommended even in patients who are in sinus rhythm on antiarrhythmic drugs. AV nodal ablation with implantation of a pacemaker is a safe and excellent method of rate control for elderly patients who do not respond adequately to pharmacotherapy. Other invasive procedures, such as pulmonary vein isolation and Cox-Maze operations, are associated with high risks of complications in the elderly and are generally not recommended. Postoperative AF is common in the elderly population, and its development in high-risk patients should be anticipated and promptly treated to avoid potential hemodynamic compromise and prolonged hospitalization.     

Atrial fibrillation in the elderly

Atrial fibrillation is increasingly prevalent among older adults. It causes approximately 24% of strokes in patients aged 80 to 89 years. The management of atrial fibrillation is directed at preventing thromboembolism and controlling the heart rate and rhythm. Stroke prevention is most effectively accomplished through administering anticoagulants such as warfarin, although older patients have higher hemorrhagic risk. Cognitive dysfunction, functional impairments, and increased fall risk further complicate warfarin management in elderly patients. The use of risk stratification schemes can help guide the anticoagulation decision, although the benefits of warfarin generally outweigh the risks in most older patients with atrial fibrillation. Pharmacologic rate control has been shown to result in similar outcomes compared with pharmacologic restoration of sinus rhythm and should be the initial therapy for elderly patients. Anti-arrhythmic medications should be selected based on an individual patient’s coexisting medical conditions. In symptomatic patients who fail pharmacologic therapy, invasive strategies such as AV nodal ablation may help improve quality of life and symptoms, although such strategies do not obviate the need for antithrombotic therapy.     

Atrial fibrillation in the elderly

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is an extremely common condition in the elderly, with increasing prevalence around the world as the population ages. AF may be associated with serious health consequences, including stroke, heart failure, and decreased quality of life, so that careful management of AF by geriatric health care providers is required. With careful attention to anticoagulation therapy, and prudent use of medications and invasive procedures to minimize symptoms, many of the adverse health consequences of AF can be prevented. (J Geriatr Cardiol 2005;2(2): 68-73).     

Atrial fibrillation in the elderly

Atrial fibrillation is the most common sustained arrhythmia seen in clinical practice. Although it occurs in any age patients, its frequency increases with age and is very common in the elderly. Atrial fibrillation causes substantial symptoms and morbidity and is an important cause of thromboembolism and stroke. The two approaches for therapy in those patients with intermittent or persistent atrial fibrillation are (1) maintenance of sinus rhythm with an antiarrhythmic drug or nonpharmacologic therapy, and (2) maintenance of atrial fibrillation with rate control. At the present time there are no data about the best approach and therapy must therefore be individualized.     

Atrial fibrillation in the elderly

Atrial fibrillation is the most common arrhythmia in the United States, whose incidence is greatest in the elderly population. This rhythm disorder can be paroxysmal or chronic and is associated with a range of clinical conditions from palpitations and dyspnea to stroke and death. In the elderly the mainstay of treatment of atrial fibrillation should utilize drug therapy. The main goals of drug therapy should be effective rate control to avoid tachycardia-induced cardiomyopathy, anticoagulation to reduce the risk of stroke and thromboembolism, and maintenance of sinus rhythm to prevent adverse atrial remodeling. In those patients in whom effective rate control cannot be achieved, catheter ablation of the atrioventricular node and implantation of a permanent pacemaker should be considered. Catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation by targeting pulmonary venous foci or pulmonary venous isolation currently remains investigational and we advocate its use be limited to symptomatic patients who have failed traditional therapy.     

老年非瓣膜性心房颤动患者脑卒中前认知功能的临床特点分析

目的探讨合并非瓣膜性心房颤动(房颤)的老年脑卒中患者首发脑卒中前认知功能的临床特点。方法选取老年急性脑卒中患者540例,伴有非瓣膜性房颤患者87例(房颤组),无房颤患者453例(对照组)。收集患者人口学资料,并于入院或就诊后2d内完成神经心理学量表,简易智能状态检查量表(MMSE)、美国国立卫生研究院卒中量表(NIHSS)及简化版老年认知功能减退知情者问卷IQCODE)测评,比较2组资料并做统计学分析。结果540例老年急性脑卒中患者中,77例(14.3%))脑卒中前有认知功能障碍,9例(1.7%)达到痴呆。房颤组年龄、糖尿病、血管疾病,抗凝药、NIHSS评分、IQCODE评分、IQCODE≥3.44分、IQCODE≥4分比例明显高于对照组,抗血小板药、MMSE评分明显低于对照组,差异有统计学意义(P0.05,P0.01)。logistic回归分析显示,急性脑卒中患者年龄、房颤和糖尿病为脑卒中前认知功能障碍的危险因素(P0.05,P0.01),房颤组患者年龄和持续性房颤为脑卒中前认知功能障碍的危险因素(OR=1.144,95%CI:1.039~1.259,P=0.006;OR=6.843,95%CI:1.936~24.195,P=0.003)。结论房颤患者脑卒中前认知功能已有损害,并随着年龄的增大而增加,房颤是老年脑卒中患者认知功能减退的独立危险因素,要重视对房颤患者的认知功能评估。     

Atrial fibrillation in the elderly: management update

Non-valvular atrial fibrillation is associated with a markedly increased risk of embolic stroke in elderly persons. Evidence is accumulating that anticoagulation with warfarin or aspirin may be effective in reducing this risk.     

Atrial fibrillation and falls in the elderly

Atrial fibrillation is an extremely rare cause of falls and syncope in the elderly. The routine use of ambulatory ECG monitoring to search for atrial fibrillation in elderly patients who fall is not recommended. Among elderly patients with atrial fibrillation who fall, short pauses of less than 3 seconds are nonspecific and are as common in patients who fall as they are in those who do not. Furthermore, most pauses are not associated with symptoms. Although the decision to implant a pacemaker for extremely long pauses is often straightforward, the decision to implant a pacemaker in patients who fall and who have short pauses ideally should be made after symptoms clearly have been associated with the dysrhythmia. This type of symptom-rhythm correlation is extremely valuable and often requires long-term ambulatory monitoring with external or internal (implanted) event or loop recorders. Among the growing population of elderly persons with chronic atrial fibrillation, oral anticoagulant therapy has been shown to have significant benefit and is underused, particularly in frail residents of long-term care facilities. The published literature does not support the commonly held belief that a patient's propensity to fall is an important factor in determining optimal antithrombotic therapy. Demographic shifts in the worldwide population continue to alter the practice of medicine, which is being influenced increasingly by the health care needs of the expanding elderly population. Additional research is needed to clarify the relationship between atrial fibrillation and falls in the elderly.     

Atrial Fibrillation (AF) in Endurance Athletes: a Complicated Affair

Purpose of review

A complex relationship exists between exercise and atrial fibrillation (AF). Moderate exercise reduces AF risk whereas intense strenuous exercise has been shown to increase AF burden. It remains unclear at which point exercise may become detrimental. Overall, endurance athletes remain at lower cardiovascular risk and experience fewer strokes. The questions that arise therefore are whether AF is an acceptable byproduct of strenuous exercise, whether athletes who experience AF should be told to reduce exercise volume and how should they be managed. This review aims to critically review the literature and advise on how best to manage athletes with AF.

Recent findings

Emerging evidence suggests that female athletes may exhibit lower risk of AF, but data is limited in female endurance athletes.

Summary

AF is more prevalent in endurance athletes, particularly men and those who competed at a young age. Data is lacking in females and ethnic minorities. Current evidence suggests that treatment options for AF in athletes are similar to those used in the general population; however, medical therapy may be poorly tolerated. Catheter ablation is effective and can allow return to full competition.

     

Atrial fibrillation and heart failure in the elderly

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common clinical problem in elderly patients and especially in those with heart failure (HF). It is a major risk factor for serious cardiovascular events, such as stroke, HF and premature death. Both the prevalence and incidence of AF increase with age and its prevalence in the United States are estimated at more than 2.2 million, with nearly 75% of patients aged >65?years. Aging-related atrial remodeling with fibrosis, dilation and mitochondrial DNA mutations predispose elderly patients to AF. Current management options for AF, including rate control and anticoagulation therapy, can be successfully applied to the elderly population. New antiarrhythmic and anticoagulation medications such as dronedarone and dabigatran, respectively, can impact the approach to therapy in the elderly. Non-pharmacological options such as catheter-based ablation have also gained prominence and have been incorporated into the guidelines for management of AF. However, more trials in the elderly and very elderly segments are needed to clarify the safety and long-term efficacy of the new treatment options.     

老年高血压患者的轻度认知损害:回顾性病例系列研究

目的 探讨高血压和其他血管危险因素与轻度认知损害及其亚型之间的关系.方法 收集2011年4月至2011年9月就诊于青岛4家市级医院神经科的门诊及住院患者297例,制定统一的青岛市医院神经科认知损害现状调查表,调查轻度认知损害及其亚型的危险因素.结果 单变量分析显示,低受教育年限[优势比(odds ratio,OR)0.239,95％可信区间(confidence interval,CI)0.129～0.442;P=0.000]、高血压(OR 1.928,95％CI1.107～3.358;P =0.019)和高脂血症(OR1.812,95％ CI1.041 ～3.155;P=0.034)均为轻度认知损害的危险因素;多变量logistic回归分析显示,低教育水平( OR0.807,95％ CI0.742 ～0.878;P=0.000)和高血压(OR1.788,95％ CI1.004～3.146;P =0.048)为轻度认知损害的独立危险因素,且高血压为非遗忘型轻度认知损害的独立危险因素(OR2.091,95％ CI1.030 ～4.242;P=0.041),以视空间和执行能力受损为主(P=0.026).结论 高血压为轻度认知损害及其亚型非遗忘型轻度认知损害的独立危险因素,且以执行能力受损为主.     

Atrial fibrillation and thromboprophylaxis in elderly patients

Chronic, nonvalvular atrial fibrillation occurs more frequently with increasing age, together with an increasing risk for ischemic stroke. Guidelines recommend oral anticoagulation with a vitamin K antagonist for patients >65 years without risk factors and patients <65 years with risk factors for cardiac diseases. Advancing age also increases the risk for bleeding complications under oral anticoagulants; thus, only a part of these patients receives anticoagulant therapy. The risk of falls in elderly patients is of advancing relevance for this therapeutic decision. Oral direct thrombin inhibitors like ximelagatran may be an alternative choice for therapy. Ischemic strokes and systemic embolism in the same frequency with 2x36 mg ximelagatran over 18 months (91/3664 patients: 1.6%/year, for study Sportif III and Sportif V) compared with warfarin (93/3665 patients: 1.6%/year for study Sportif III and Sportif V). All bleeding complications occurred less frequently under therapy with ximelagatran. This could be of importance for elderly patients with risk factors for bleeding or risk of falling.     

老年人亚临床甲状腺功能亢进与心房颤动

目的观察老年人亚临床甲状腺功能亢进(甲亢)与心房颤动(房颤)发生的相关性。方法观察组43例,年龄63~82岁,为亚临床性甲亢患者,即血浆甲状腺刺激激素(TSH)<0.4μU/L,游离三碘甲状腺原氨酸(FT3)、游离甲状腺素(FT4)正常,无甲亢的临床表现;对照组50例,年龄60~85岁,甲状腺功能检查正常,即0.4μU/L相似文献   

Atrial fibrillation in the elderly: anticoagulation strategies and indications in the very elderly

With increasing life expectancy and the older mean age of the general population, the prevalence of atrial fibrillation is likely to increase, making this arrhythmia an even more important public health problem, especially in the elderly. While atrial fibrillation is increasingly common in the elderly, paradoxically, the data on intervention trials in atrial fibrillation among the elderly are limited. When considering anticoagulation in the elderly patient with atrial fibrillation, the following five questions should be addressed. 1) Is there a definite indication (for example, atrial fibrillation plus risk factor[s])? 2) Is there a high risk of bleeding or strong contraindication against anticoagulation? 3) Will concurrent medication or disease states significantly increase bleeding risk or interfere with anticoagulation control? 4) Is drug compliance and attendance at anticoagulant clinic for monitoring likely to be a problem? 5) Will there be regular review of the patient, especially with regard to risks and benefits of anticoagulation? Careful and continuing evaluation of the elderly patient with atrial fibrillation is necessary to ensure that the risks of bleeding do not outweigh the benefits from anticoagulation.     

Atrial fibrillation and cognitive disorders in older people

OBJECTIVES: To find a correlation between chronic nonrheumatic atrial fibrillation (CNRAF) and cognitive impairment in a group of older, nondemented patients. SETTING: Acute Care Unit for the Elderly, Poliambulanza Hospital, Brescia (Italy). METHODS: Two hundred fifty-five hospital in-patients older than 70 years (42 with CNRAF and 213 controls with normal sinus rhythm) were assessed by complete clinical history, physical examination, ECG, serum albumin levels, APACHE II score, mental status (Mini-Mental State Exam [MMSE] and Geriatric Depression Score [GDS]), functional status (Barthel Index and instrumental activities of daily living [IADL]), number of prescribed drugs, and comorbidity (Charlson Index). RESULTS: The group of patients with CNRAF had MMSE scores significantly lower than that of the reference group with normal sinus rhythm. Chronic nonrheumatic atrial fibrillation retained an independent relation to cognitive impairment also after adjusting for those variables associated with mental decline in univariate models (GDS, IADL, and APACHE II scores). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study support the relationship between nonrheumatic atrial fibrillation and impaired cognitive function. Independent of etiopathogenetic mechanisms (thromboembolic or hemodynamic hypotheses), prevention of cognitive impairment in older persons should take into account the treatment of atrial fibrillation and its consequences.