Women with Atrial Fibrillation Have Higher Risk for Stroke Than Men

Some, but not all, studies have suggested that women with atrial fibrillation (AF) are at higher risk for stroke than men. Swedish investigators addressed this question in a nationwide retrospective study that involved 100,000 patients with AF.

At a median follow-up of 1.2 years, ischemic stroke was significantly more common in women than in men (6.2% vs. 4.2% per year). After adjustment for 35 “cofactors for stroke” (e.g., age, previous embolic event, heart failure, hypertension, other diseases, medications), risk for stroke remained significantly higher — by 18% — in women than in men. Among patients with “lone AF” (defined as a CHADS₂ score of 0 and age <65), stroke was more common in women than in men (0.7% vs. 0.5% per year), but this d…