A cross-sectional study of atrial fibrillation in community hypertensive patients

Background Atrial fibrillation(AF) is a common arrhythmia and an important risk factor for stroke, heart failure and death. It affects the quality of life. Hypertension is a common cause of AF. Currently, however,there are no excellent clinical predictors forecasting the occurrence of AF in patients with hypertension.Methods This study enrolled 2432 hypertension patients in community. The clinical data were recorded, and then echocardiography, ECG, and venous blood samples were analyzed. Results In patients with AF, left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF) was significantly lower than those without AF, but the left atrial diameter, interventricular septum thickness, left ventricular posterior wall thickness and left ventricular mass index showed no statistical differences between the two groups. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that age, heart rate and body surface area(BSA) were independent factors of AF(OR > 1, P < 0.05), the ORs being 1.1, 1.048, 33.376, respectively; The risk was negatively correlated with LVEF, low density lipoprotein in patients with hypertension, and AF and ORs were 0.383 and 0.925, respectively. Conclusions Age, heart rate, BSA are risk factors for community hypertensive patients developing AF. The risk is negatively correlated to LVEF and low density lipoprotein in community hypertension patients with AF.