Outcomes associated with comorbid atrial fibrillation and heart failure in medicare beneficiaries with acute coronary syndrome

BMC Health Services Research: February 20, 2014

Background

Atrial fibrillation (AF) and heart failure (HF) are both common comorbid conditions of elderly patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS), but published data on their associated clinical and economic outcomes are limited.

Methods

Our study included patients from the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey with an incident hospitalization for ACS between 03/01/2002 and 12/31/2006. Applying population weights, we identified 795 incident ACS patients, representing more than 2.5 million Medicare beneficiaries. Of this population, 13.1% had comorbid AF, and 22.9% had HF, which were identified from Medicare claims during the 6 months prior to the first ACS event (index date) Subsequent cardiovascular (CV) hospitalizations and mortality were compared using Kaplan-Meier curves. Cox proportional hazards regressions were used to estimate the relative risk of AF and HF on CV events and mortality. Healthcare costs were summarized for the calendar year in which the incident ACS event occurred. Read More