: The incidence and prevalence of AF have increased in recent years , although great variability still exists in Asian countries .
Variability in annual IS risk in patients with AF was apparent between hospital‐ and community‐based studies .
BACKGROUND : Our previous review reported great variability in the incidence and prevalence of atrial fibrillation ( AF ) in non‐Western cohorts , especially from Asian countries ; in recent years , epidemiologic studies on AF have been increasingly reported from Asia .
METHODS : The goal of this up date d systematic review was to present the current knowledge base of AF epidemiology in Asian countries since our previous review .
Influence of atrial fibrillation on post‐discharge natriuretic peptide trajectory and clinical outcomes among patients hospitalized for heart failure: insights from the ASTRONAUT trial
AIMS Change in NT-proBNP level is a common surrogate endpoint in early phase heart failure ( HF ) trials , but whether this endpoint is influenced by atrial fibrillation/flutter ( AFF ) is unclear . METHODS AND RESULTS This analysis included 1358 patients from the ASTRONAUT trial , which r and omized patients hospitalized for HF with EF ≤40 % to aliskiren or placebo in addition to st and ard care .  Patients were stratified by presence of AFF on baseline ECG . NT-proBNP was measured longitudinally by a core laboratory at baseline , 1 month , 6 months , and 12 months . Compared with non-AFF patients , AFF patients experienced greater reduction from baseline in log-transformed NT-proBNP ( interaction P < 0.001 ) , but this difference was not significant after adjustment ( interaction P = 0.726 ) . The ability of aliskiren to lower NT-proBNP during follow-up differed by AFF status ( interaction P = 0.001 ) , with aliskiren  lowering NT-proBNP more than placebo among non-AFF patients only . After adjustment , baseline AFF was not associated with mortality or HF hospitalization at 12 months ( all P ≥ 0.152 ) . CONCLUSION In this hospitalized HF cohort , AFF status did not influence post-discharge NT-proBNP trajectory or clinical outcomes after adjustment for patient characteristics . Aliskiren lowered follow-up NT-proBNP levels in patients without AFF , but had no influence among patients with AFF . This study generates the hypothesis that the ability of a HF trial to meet an NT-proBNP defined endpoint may be influenced by the prevalence of AFF in the population . Because aliskiren did not improve outcomes in patients without AFF , this analysis suggests changes in NT-proBNP induced by investigational therapies may be dissociated from clinical effects
: The incidence and prevalence of AF have increased in recent years , although great variability still exists in Asian countries .
Variability in annual IS risk in patients with AF was apparent between hospital‐ and community‐based studies .
BACKGROUND : Our previous review reported great variability in the incidence and prevalence of atrial fibrillation ( AF ) in non‐Western cohorts , especially from Asian countries ; in recent years , epidemiologic studies on AF have been increasingly reported from Asia .
METHODS : The goal of this up date d systematic review was to present the current knowledge base of AF epidemiology in Asian countries since our previous review .