BackgroundElderly people are susceptible to atrial fibrillation (AF) and ischemic stroke (IS); however, less information is known about the association between AF and the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality in elderly population with IS. We aimed to investigate the features of AF among aged people with IS and to illustrate whether AF accounted for CVD mortality.MethodsAt baseline, 790 patients with IS were enrolled from the general northeast Chinese elderly population (>60 years) between September 2017 to March 2019. The prevalence, awareness, and treatment of AF in each age group were analyzed, as well as major-related cardiovascular risk factors. The population was followed until July 31, 2021, and information on CVD death was obtained.ResultsA total of 25 people had AF, and the prevalence of AF in the elderly population with IS was 3.2%. The AF prevalence grew along with age from 1% (60–64 years) to 4.3% (70–74 years) and 4.2% (≥75 years), which was higher in the urban residents than in the rural residents (5.7 vs. 2.2%, P = 0.014). The awareness and treatment rates of patients with AF were 80 and 8%. After a median follow-up period of 3.3 years, 58 subjects died due to CVD and 5 subjects were accompanied with AF (rate 70.6/1,000 person-years). Elderly IS patients with AF had a 3.65-fold increased risk of CVD death in the fully adjusted model when compared with non-AF participants.ConclusionThe AF prevalence increased with age among the elderly population with IS. Moreover, elderly patients with IS in northeast China with AF had a higher CVD mortality. Therefore, early screening and prompt management of AF in elderly population with IS in northeast China are required.

Little is known about the epidemiology and impact of atrial fibrillation (AF) on cardiovascular diseases (CVD) mortality among hypertensive elderly population in northeast China. The community-based study included 4497 hypertensive elderly residents aged ≥65 years who lived in northeast China from September 2017 to March 2019.Information on CVD deaths was obtained from baseline until July 31, 2021. Cox proportional hazard regression models were performed in the evaluation of CVD mortality. We identified 101 persons with AF. The prevalence of AF was 2.2% among elderly hypertensive population, which increased significantly with age. The prevalence of AF was higher in men than in women. The awareness rate was 51.5%, higher in urban areas than in rural areas (68.8% vs 43.5%, P = .018). Only 4.0% patients received oral anticoagulant (OAC) therapy among AF patients. Moreover, diabetes (26.7%) and dyslipidemia (37.6%) were highly prevalent in AF patients. Furthermore, 212 persons died due to CVD (14.7/1000 person-years) during a median follow-up of 3.2 years. AF patients had a 3.42 (95% CI: 2.07-5.63) times higher risk of CVD mortality than the patients without AF in the fully adjusted model. Therefore, the burden of AF among hypertensive elderly population in northeast China was considerable. Longterm screening and management strategies for AF and related risk factors are required among hypertensive elderly in northeast China.