High Pulse Pressure: Risk Factor for New-Onset AFib?

The difference between systolic and diastolic blood pressure may portend atrial fibrillation, according to Framingham data.

Traditional risk factors for atrial fibrillation (AF) include advanced age, high systolic blood pressure, diabetes, heart failure, valvular heart disease, prior MI, and obesity, as well as echocardiographic evidence of left-atrial enlargement, left-ventricular wall thickness, and impaired LV systolic function. To study whether increased pulse pressure (PP) might also be an AF risk factor, researchers analyzed data from 5331 Framingham Heart Study participants (mean age, 57; 55% women) who were AF-free at baseline.

During a median follow-up of 12 years, 698 participants (13%) developed AF. As expected, traditional risk factors (including increased systolic BP) predicted new-onset AF. However, diastolic BP was also significantly, but inversely…

Reviewing Author

Mark S. Link, MD

High Pulse Pressure: Risk Factor for New-Onset AFib?

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Reviewing Author