Atherosclerosis and thromboembolic risk in atrial fibrillation: focus on peripheral vascular disease.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia in clinical practice. It results in a 5-fold increased risk for stroke and thromboembolism and is associated with a high morbidity and mortality. AF shares several risk factors and pathophysiological features with atherosclerosis. Hence AF is often complicated by a variety of other cardiovascular conditions. Indeed, peripheral vascular disease (PVD) is highly prevalent among AF patients and associates with increased mortality. Inclusion of PVD within stroke risk scoring systems such as the CHA2DS2-VASc score improves risk stratification of AF patients. Of note, PVD has not been previously well documented nor looked for in observational studies or clinical trials. The aim of this present review article is to provide an overview of the association between atherosclerosis (with particular focus on PVD) and AF as well as its complications.