Prevalence of atrial fibrillation and associated factors in a population of long-term hemodialysis patients.

Background: Hemodialysis (HD) is associated with cardiovascular structural modifications; moreover, during HD, rapid electrolytic changes occur. Both factors may favor the onset of atrial fibrillation. Methods: To define the prevalence of atrial fibrillation and identify associated factors, 488 patients on long-term HD therapy (age, 66.6 ± 13.4 years; men, 58.0%; duration of HD, 76.5 ± 84.3 months) were studied. Results: Atrial fibrillation was reported in 27.0% of patients; paroxysmal in 3.5%, persistent in 9.6%, and permanent in 13.9%. Clinical and echocardiographic variables were considered: patients with atrial fibrillation were older (71.8 ± 9.3 versus 64.7 ± 14.2 years; P P = 0.02). Atrial fibrillation was associated significantly with ischemic heart disease ( P P P P P P P P = 0.029). No association was found between arrhythmia and hypertension or diabetes. Multivariate analysis confirmed that patient age ( P P = 0.001), and left atrial dilatation ( P Conclusion: Atrial fibrillation is much more frequent in HD patients than in the general population; age, duration of HD history, presence of some heart diseases, and left atrial dilatation are associated with the arrhythmia.