Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Aug 3;10(15):e020163.
doi: 10.1161/JAHA.120.020163. Epub 2021 Jul 29.

Trends in Cardiovascular Mortality Related to Atrial Fibrillation in the United States, 2011 to 2018

Yoshihiro Tanaka  1   2 , Nilay S Shah  1   3 , Rod Passman  1   3 , Philip Greenland  1   3 , Donald M Lloyd-Jones  1   3 , Sadiya S Khan  1   3
Affiliations

Trends in Cardiovascular Mortality Related to Atrial Fibrillation in the United States, 2011 to 2018

Yoshihiro Tanaka et al. J Am Heart Assoc. .

Abstract

Background Prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF) continues to increase and is associated with significant cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. To inform prevention strategies aimed at reducing the burden of AF, we sought to quantify trends in cardiovascular mortality related to AF in the United States. Methods and Results We performed serial cross-sectional analyses of national death certificate data for cardiovascular mortality related to AF, whereby cardiovascular disease was listed as underlying cause of death and AF as multiple cause of death among adults aged 35 to 84 years using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Wide-Ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research. We calculated age-adjusted mortality rates per 100 000 population and examined trends over time, estimating average annual percentage change using the Joinpoint Regression Program. Subgroup analyses were performed by race-sex and across 2 age groups (younger: 35-64 years; older: 65-84 years). A total of 276 373 cardiovascular deaths related to AF were identified in the United States between 2011 and 2018 in decedents aged 35 to 84 years. Age-adjusted mortality rate increased from 18.0 (95% CI, 17.8-18.2) to 22.3 (95% CI, 22.0-22.4) per 100 000 population between 2011 and 2018. The increase in age-adjusted mortality rate (average annual percentage change) between 2011 and 2018 was greater among younger decedents (7.4% per year [95% CI, 6.8%-8.0%]) compared with older decedents (3.0% per year [95% CI, 2.6%-3.4%]). Conclusions Cardiovascular deaths related to AF are increasing, especially among younger adults, and warrant greater attention to prevention earlier in the life course.

Keywords: United States; atrial fibrillation; cardiovascular deaths.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

None.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Trends in age‐adjusted mortality rates in cardiovascular deaths related to atrial fibrillation in all decedents aged 35 to 84 years between 2011 and 2018.
Mortality rates per 100 000 with 95% CI (dotted line) are shown.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Trends in age‐adjusted mortality rates in cardiovascular deaths related to atrial fibrillation in race‐sex groups between 2011 and 2018.
Mortality rates per 100 000 with 95% CI (dotted line) are shown by race and sex.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Trends in age‐adjusted mortality rates in cardiovascular deaths related to atrial fibrillation, stratified by race‐sex and age groups (younger: 35–64 years; older: 65–84 years), between 2011 and 2018.
A, Trends stratified by race‐sex across 2 age groups. B, Magnified figure for younger age subgroup. Mortality rates per 100 000 with 95% CI (dotted line) are shown by race and sex.
Figure 4
Figure 4. Trends in age‐adjusted mortality rates of deaths attributable to atrial fibrillation as the underlying cause of death in decedents aged 35 to 84 years between 2011 and 2018.
Mortality rates per 100 000 with 95% CI (dotted line) are shown.
Figure 5
Figure 5. Trends in age‐adjusted mortality rates of deaths attributable to atrial fibrillation as the underlying cause of death, stratified by race‐sex and age groups, between 2011 and 2018.
A, Trends stratified by race‐sex across 2 age groups. B, Magnified figure for younger age subgroup. Mortality rates per 100 000 with 95% CI (dotted line) are shown by race and sex.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Mou L, Norby FL, Chen LY, O'Neal WT, Lewis TT, Loehr LR, Soliman EZ, Alonso A. Lifetime risk of atrial fibrillation by race and socioeconomic status: ARIC study (Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities). Circ Arrhythm Electrophysiol. 2018;11:e006350. DOI: 10.1161/CIRCEP.118.006350. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Colilla S, Crow A, Petkun W, Singer DE, Simon T, Liu X. Estimates of current and future incidence and prevalence of atrial fibrillation in the U.S. adult population. Am J Cardiol. 2013;112:1142–1147. DOI: 10.1016/j.amjcard.2013.05.063. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Benjamin EJ, Muntner P, Alonso A, Bittencourt MS, Callaway CW, Carson AP, Chamberlain AM, Chang AR, Cheng S, Das SR, et al. Heart disease and stroke statistics‐2019 update: a report from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2019;139:e56–e528. DOI: 10.1161/CIR.0000000000000659. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Odutayo A, Wong CX, Hsiao AJ, Hopewell S, Altman DG, Emdin CA. Atrial fibrillation and risks of cardiovascular disease, renal disease, and death: systematic review and meta‐analysis. BMJ. 2016;354:i4482. DOI: 10.1136/bmj.i4482. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Miyasaka Y, Barnes ME, Gersh BJ, Cha SS, Bailey KR, Abhayaratna WP, Seward JB, Tsang TS. Secular trends in incidence of atrial fibrillation in Olmsted County, Minnesota, 1980 to 2000, and implications on the projections for future prevalence. Circulation. 2006;114:119–125. DOI: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.105.595140. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types