COVID-19 tests are processed at the Mount Olympus Senior Center in Millcreek on Oct. 5. Those with atrial fibrillation — a heart condition that affects more than 12 million in the U.S. — face significantly increased risk of complications and death from the coronavirus, researchers with Intermountain Healthcare announced Wednesday. ( Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News)
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SALT LAKE CITY — Those with atrial fibrillation — a heart condition that affects more than 12 million in the U.S. — face significantly increased risk of complications and death from the novel coronavirus, researchers with Intermountain Healthcare announced Wednesday.
Researchers described atrial fibrillation, or AFib, as the most common type of heart arrhythmia in adults. According to the American Heart Association, the condition causes “quivering” or irregular heartbeat, and it can lead to blood clots, stroke, heart failure and other complications.
The Intermountain study in Salt Lake City found that those with a history of atrial fibrillation who contract COVID-19 “are not only more likely to need hospitalization, ICU and ventilator support, but nearly 62% more likely to suffer a major cardiovascular event, such as a heart failure hospitalization, and 40% more likely to die than individuals who don’t have a history of atrial fibrillation,” hospital officials said in a statement.
“We often think of atrial fibrillation as more of a nuisance arrhythmia that can cause unpleasant symptoms and some negative clinical impacts, but is generally not life-threatening,” said Dr. Michael J. Cutler, lead investigator of the study and a heart rhythm specialist at the Intermountain Healthcare Heart Institute.
“However, the findings of our study suggest that patients with atrial fibrillation are at higher risk than the general population for serious complications from COVID-19 illness.”
Cutler and others who worked on the study presented their findings at the American Heart Association 2021 Scientific Sessions this week.
The study found that 3,119 patients with a prior atrial fibrillation diagnosis who were examined at Intermountain Healthcare after they tested positive for the coronavirus “did clinically worse” than patients without a previous AFib diagnosis. The study took place between March 2020 and May 2021.
Researchers said those patients were more likely to need hospitalization, oxygen support, intensive care unit treatment and ventilators. They were also 61.5% more likely to suffer a major cardiovascular event like heart failure, and 40% more likely to die due to COVID-19 than those without AFib, according to the statement.
Cutler urged patients with AFib to understand they are in a higher-risk category and take precautions against the coronavirus.
The findings will also help doctors understand how to treat atrial fibrillation patients with COVID-19, researchers noted.
This story will be updated.