Atrial Fibrillation Raises Risk of Sudden Cardiac Death

Atrial fibrillation raises the risk of sudden cardiac death by as much as 3.26-fold, according to an analysis of the Atheroscilerosis Risk in Communities Study (ARIC), and 2.14-fold according to the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS), researchers from the University of Minnesota Medical School reported.

Researchers analyzed data from 15,439 adults between the ages of 45-years and 64-years-old in the ARIC Study and an additional 5,479 Medicare beneficiaries in the CHS cohort.  

In the ARIC, incidence of sudden cardiac death was 2.89 per 1000 person-years in those with atrial fibrillation, and 1.30 per 1000 person-years in those without it.  In CHS, it was 12 per 1000 person-years with atrial fibrillation versus 2.82 without.

"Not only does atrial fibrillation predispose to stroke, heart failure, and death, but the arrhythmia per se may increase the risk of death from ventricular tachyarrhythmias. The latter is potentially preventable; to this end, additional research to identify predictors of sudden cardiac death in patients with atrial fibrillation is much needed."

-Michael Potts