Demographic trends in mortality with older population due to atrial fibrillation and flutter from 1999-2020.

Abstract

Atrial fibrillation (AF)/atrial flutter (AFL) is the most common sustained cardiac arrhythmia. The known risk factors for developing AF/AFL include age, structural heart disease, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, or hyperthyroidism. This study aims to attribute the trends in AF/AFL-related mortalities over the past two decades 1999-2020 concerning race and sex and disparity among them. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that estimates the trends and mortality due to AF/AFL from 1999-2020 in older adults in the United States. In this 21-year analysis of mortality data, we found a constant increase in mortality rates due to AF/AFL in older adults. From 1999 to 2020, the overall mortality in older adults aged 65 and above, regardless of sex and race, is found to be almost doubled i.e. about a 50.2% increase in the number of deaths due to AF/AFL. Furthermore, other confounding risk factors such has obesity, prior myocardial infarction, inflammation, hypertension, birth weight, diabetes mellitus, hyperthyroidism, hormone replacement therapy in menopausal women increases the risk in the occurrence or recurrent occurrence of AF.