Awareness and Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation

Blacks with AF are less likely than whites both to know about their condition and to receive warfarin for it.

In the U.S., blacks are at higher risk for stroke than whites (JW Neurol Oct 21 2004). To assess racial disparities in the awareness and treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF), a major risk factor for stroke, investigators studied data from the REGARDS study, a U.S. population-based, longitudinal study of 30,239 adults aged ≥45 with an oversampling of blacks and residents of the southern “stroke belt.” Participants were enrolled between January 2003 and October 2007.

AF was identified on baseline electrocardiograms of 432 individuals (20% black; median age, 74). Of these individuals, more than 80% had at least one additional CHADS₂ (congestive heart failure, hypertension, age, diabetes, prior stroke or transient ischemic attack) stroke risk f…

Reviewing Author

Joel M. Gore, MD

Disclosures

Grant/Research SupportNIH–National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Joel M. Gore, MD

Disclosures

Grant/Research SupportNIH–National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Awareness and Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation

Topics

Reviewing Author