0261: How to identify a risk for subsequent atrial fibrillation and higher risk of stroke in patients with hospitalization related to a cardiac cause?

A substantial part of ischemic strokes (IS) occurs in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and 20% of all strokes are attributed to AF. We aimed to identify patients with a cardiac condition without diagnosed AF at higher risk of having a subsequent diagnosis of AF. Methods In a French longitudinal cohort study based on the PMSI database covering hospital care for the entire population, we analyzed incidence rates of new onset AF. Results Of 1,081,969 patients with hospitalization due to a cardiac condition in 2009, 826,416 patients did not have AF in their history but had hypertension (51%), heart failure (24%), coronary artery disease (40%), rhythm or conduction disturbances with no AF (23%), and/or valve disease (9%). A total of 61,062 (7.4%) of these patients were diagnosed as having AF during a follow-up of 17±15 months (yearly AF incidence rate 5.19%). CHA2DS2-VASc score was higher in these patients (4.63±1.66 vs 2.83±1.98 in those with no AF during FU, p Conclusion A cardiac condition was associated with a substantial risk of AF (and stroke) during FU when CHA2DS2VASc score was higher.