Among the outcomes examined , the highest absolute risk increase was for heart failure .
Associations between atrial fibrillation and included outcomes were broadly consistent across subgroups and in sensitivity analyses .
Atrial fibrillation is associated with an increased risk of death and an increased risk of cardiovascular and renal disease .
OBJECTIVE To quantify the association between  atrial fibrillation and cardiovascular disease , renal disease , and death .
Prevalence of atrial fibrillation and association of atrial fibrillation with prior and new thromboembolic stroke in older patients.
OBJECTIVE To correlate atrial fibrillation with the incidence of new thromboembolic ( TE ) stroke  in older patients with and without prior TE stroke . DESIGN In a prospect i ve study of 2101 older patients ,  electrocardiograms  showed that atrial fibrillation was present in 283 patients ( 13 % ) . At 42-month mean follow-up , atrial fibrillation was associated with the incidence of new TE stroke in patients with and without prior TE stroke . SETTING A large long-term health care facility where 2101 older patients were studied . PATIENTS The 2101 patients included 1451 women and 650 men , mean age 81 + /- 8 years ( range 60 to 103 ) . MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Atrial fibrillation was present in 283 of 2101 patients ( 13 % ) . The mean age was 84 + /- 7 years in patients with atrial fibrillation and 81 + /- 8 years in patients with sinus rhythm ( P = .0001 ) . The prevalence of atrial fibrillation was 5 % in patients aged 60 to 70 years , 14 % in patients aged 71 to 80 years , 13 % in patients aged 81 to 90 years , and 22 % in patients aged 91 to 103 years ( P < .0001 ) . Mean follow-up was 31 + /- 18 months in patients with atrial fibrillation and 44 + /- 27 months in patients with sinus rhythm ( P = .0001 ) . Previous TE stroke occurred in 123 of 283 patients ( 43 % ) with atrial fibrillation and in 431 of 1818 patients ( 24 % ) with sinus rhythm ( P < .0001 ) . New TE stroke occurred in 131 of 283 patients ( 46 % ) with atrial fibrillation and in 303 of 1818 patients ( 17 % ) with sinus rhythm ( P < .0001 ) . The log-rank test showed that patients with atrial fibrillation had a significantly higher probability of developing new TE stroke than those with sinus rhythm ( P < .0001 ) . The multivariate Cox regression model showed that independent risk factors for new TE stroke were male sex ( relative risk = 1.3 ) , prior TE stroke ( relative risk = 3.1 ) , and atrial fibrillation ( relative risk = 3.3 ) . CONCLUSIONS Atrial fibrillation , prior TE stroke , and male sex are independent risk factors for the development of new TE stroke in older patients
Among the outcomes examined , the highest absolute risk increase was for heart failure .
Associations between atrial fibrillation and included outcomes were broadly consistent across subgroups and in sensitivity analyses .
Atrial fibrillation is associated with an increased risk of death and an increased risk of cardiovascular and renal disease .
OBJECTIVE To quantify the association between  atrial fibrillation and cardiovascular disease , renal disease , and death .