Treatment of Subclinical Hyperthyroidism and Incident Atrial Fibrillation

Context

Treating overt hyperthyroidism prevents atrial fibrillation (AF). Though subclinical hyperthyroidism (SH) has been associated with AF, it is unknown whether treating SH prevents AF.

Objective

We aimed to identify the association between treating SH and incident AF.

Design

In a pharmacoepidemiologic retrospective cohort study, patients diagnosed with SH between 2000 and 2021 were followed.

Patients

Outpatients ≥ 18 years with biochemical SH and without prior AF, hypothyroidism, thyroid cancer, pituitary disease, or pregnancy were included.

Main Outcomes

The primary outcome was incident AF. Secondary outcomes were ECG and echocardiographic features associated with AF.

Results

Of 2169 patients screened, 360 (131 treated and 229 untreated) were followed up for a mean of 4.27 years. In the treated and untreated groups, AF occurred in 4 (3.1%) and 15 (6.6%) patients (p = 0.15), and AF incidence was 0.8% and 1.4%/year (p = 0.31), respectively. The hazard ratio (HR) for treatment as a time-dependent variable was 0.60 (95% CI 0.19–1.92; p = 0.39). As some cases of AF were documented nearly simultaneously with SH treatment, a sensitivity analysis was performed reassigning two patients diagnosed with AF < 30 days after starting SH treatment to the untreated group. Here, in the treated and untreated groups, AF occurred in 1.6% and 7.4% (p = 0.02), and AF incidence was 0.4% and 1.8%/year (p = 0.02), respectively. The HR was 0.25 (0.06–1.13; p = 0.07). There were no differences in ECG or echocardiographic features.

Conclusion

There was an overall trend towards lower incidence and prevalence of AF following treatment of SH, supporting the need for larger scale studies.