Abstract 17006: Clinical Characteristics and All-Cause Mortality After Non-Major Bleeding in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation Taking or Not Oral-Anticoagulant: The Fushimi AF Registry

Abstract

Background: The use of oral anticoagulants (OAC) in atrial fibrillation (AF) patients increases the risk of bleeding. However, the relationship between OAC use before and after non-major bleeding and all-cause mortality remains unknown. Purpose: We aimed to investigate the association between OAC prescription before and after non-major bleeding and all-cause mortality in AF patients. Method: In the Fushimi AF Registry, follow-up data were available in 4,496 patients by the end of February 2022. Patients were divided into four groups based on OAC prescription before and after non-major bleeding: G1 (OAC prescribed both before and after), G2 (OAC prescribed before but not after), G3 (OAC not prescribed before but prescribed after), and G4 (OAC neither prescribed before nor after). Non-major bleeding was defined as all bleeding except for major bleeding according to the criteria of the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis. Result: During the median follow-up of 1,448 days, 733 patients experienced non-major bleeding. G1 had 452 patients, G2 had 54, G3 had 63, and G4 had 164. G1 and G2 were more often non-paroxysmal AF and had significantly higher prevalence of previous stroke or systemic embolism, heart failure and dyslipidemia and had higher CHADS2 scores than G3 and G4. All-cause mortality after non-major bleeding occurred in 91 patients in G1, 54 in G2, 63 in G3, and 164 in G4. (G1: 5.1%, G2: 13.0%, G3: 7.1%, and G4: 6.8% per patient-year, p=0.0004). Multivariate analysis showed that the G2 group had a higher incidence of all-cause mortality as compared with G1 (HR 2.49, 95%CI 1.58-3.93; p<0.0001), G3 (HR 2.44, 95%CI 1.23-4.84; p=0.011), and G4 (HR 1.71, 95%CI 1.00-2.93; p=0.0502) [Figure]. Conclusion: Discontinuation of OAC therapy after non-major bleeding in Japanese AF patients was associated with increased all-cause mortality.