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Review
. 2022 Dec 16;3(6Part B):760-765.
doi: 10.1016/j.hroo.2022.08.010. eCollection 2022 Dec.

American Indians and atrial fibrillation

José M Sanchez  1 , Gregory M Marcus  2
Affiliations
Review

American Indians and atrial fibrillation

José M Sanchez et al. Heart Rhythm O2. .

Abstract

The American Indian population is known to experience high rates of cardiovascular disease and have a heightened vulnerability to severe outcomes driven by an overall poor health status and lower access to quality health care. Our group has previously published an analysis demonstrating that American Indians have the highest risk of atrial fibrillation (AF), as well as of AF-related stroke, when compared with other races and ethnicities. Despite this, AF in this population has not been extensively studied and additional publications are scarce. Our review article provides an up-to-date summary of the relevant literature addressing the relationship between race, ethnicity, and AF by focusing on American Indians.

Keywords: American Indians and Alaska Natives; Atrial fibrillation; Epidemiology; Indigenous population; Race and ethnicity.

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Figures

None
Graphical abstract
Figure 1
Figure 1
Adjusted Kaplan-Meier curves for incident atrial fibrillation (AF) in American Indian, white, black, Hispanic, and Asian patients. The curves are adjusted for age, sex, income level, insurance payer, hypertension, diabetes, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular disease, chronic kidney disease, smoking, sleep apnea, pulmonary disease, alcohol use, and number of healthcare encounters. ∗Comparison between American Indians to each individual race and ethnicity, P value <.0001. Reprinted with permission from Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Adjusted Kaplan-Meier curves for incident nonhemorrhagic stroke in American Indian and non–American Indian patients with and without atrial fibrillation (AF). The curves are adjusted for age, sex, income level, insurance payer, hypertension, diabetes, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, cardiac surgery, valvular heart disease, chronic kidney disease, smoking, obstructive sleep apnea, pulmonary disease, and alcohol use. ∗Comparison between American Indians to non–American Indians, P value <.0001. †Comparison between American Indians with AF and non–American Indians with AF, P value <.0001. Reprinted with permission from John Wiley & Sons Inc.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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