Samuel Adamsson Eryd1, Gerd Östling2, Maria Rosvall2, Margaretha Persson2, J Gustav Smith3, Olle Melander2, Bo Hedblad2, Gunnar Engström2. 1. Cardiovascular Epidemiology Research Group, Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Skåne University Hospital, Clinical Research Centre Building 60, Floor 13, Jan Waldenströms Gata 35, 20502 Malmö, Sweden. Electronic address: samuel.adamsson_eryd@med.lu.se. 2. Cardiovascular Epidemiology Research Group, Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Skåne University Hospital, Clinical Research Centre Building 60, Floor 13, Jan Waldenströms Gata 35, 20502 Malmö, Sweden. 3. Department of Cardiology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) is a measure of arterial thickening and a risk predictor for myocardial infarction and stroke. It is unclear whether IMT also predicts atrial fibrillation (AF). We explored the association between IMT and incidence of first AF hospitalization in a population-based cohort. METHODS: IMT was measured in 4846 subjects from the general population (aged 46-68 years, 60% women) without a history of AF, heart failure or myocardial infarction. The Swedish in-patient register was used for retrieval of AF cases. IMT was studied in relation to incidence of AF. RESULTS: During a mean follow-up of 15.3 years, 353 subjects (181 men, 172 women, 4.8 per 1000 person-years) were hospitalized with a diagnosis of AF. After adjustment for cardiovascular risk factors, the hazard ratio (HR) for incidence of AF was 1.61 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.14-2.27) for 4th vs. 1st quartile of IMT in the common carotid artery. This relationship was also independent of occurrence of carotid plaque. The results were similar for IMT in the bifurcation. CONCLUSION: Carotid IMT was independently associated with incidence of hospitalized AF in this study of middle-aged subjects from the general population. The results suggest that arterial thickening can predict future AF.
OBJECTIVE: Carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) is a measure of arterial thickening and a risk predictor for myocardial infarction and stroke. It is unclear whether IMT also predicts atrial fibrillation (AF). We explored the association between IMT and incidence of first AF hospitalization in a population-based cohort. METHODS: IMT was measured in 4846 subjects from the general population (aged 46-68 years, 60% women) without a history of AF, heart failure or myocardial infarction. The Swedish in-patient register was used for retrieval of AF cases. IMT was studied in relation to incidence of AF. RESULTS: During a mean follow-up of 15.3 years, 353 subjects (181 men, 172 women, 4.8 per 1000 person-years) were hospitalized with a diagnosis of AF. After adjustment for cardiovascular risk factors, the hazard ratio (HR) for incidence of AF was 1.61 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.14-2.27) for 4th vs. 1st quartile of IMT in the common carotid artery. This relationship was also independent of occurrence of carotid plaque. The results were similar for IMT in the bifurcation. CONCLUSION: Carotid IMT was independently associated with incidence of hospitalized AF in this study of middle-aged subjects from the general population. The results suggest that arterial thickening can predict future AF.
Authors: Lin Y Chen; Maarten J G Leening; Faye L Norby; Nicholas S Roetker; Albert Hofman; Oscar H Franco; Wei Pan; Joseph F Polak; Jacqueline C M Witteman; Richard A Kronmal; Aaron R Folsom; Saman Nazarian; Bruno H Stricker; Susan R Heckbert; Alvaro Alonso Journal: J Am Heart Assoc Date: 2016-05-20 Impact factor: 5.501
Authors: Yan Borné; Björn Fagerberg; Margaretha Persson; Gerd Östling; Martin Söderholm; Bo Hedblad; Gerd Sallsten; Lars Barregard; Gunnar Engström Journal: J Am Heart Assoc Date: 2017-12-02 Impact factor: 5.501