THE IMPACT OF HYPERTENSION IN PATIENTS PRESENTING HEART FAILURE WITH AND WITHOUT ATRIAL FIBRILLATION

Abstract

Objective: Both atrial fibrillation and heart failure represent etiological factors for each other, while hypertension does the same for them. Our aim consisted in identifying the degree of which the presence of hypertension contributed as a risk factor for developing atrial fibrillation in patients suffering from heart failure. Design and method: We analysed 129 patients with heart failure in sinus rhythm and 158 patients with heart failure and atrial fibrillation, both group patients being randomly selected from year 2019 to 2021. The study included patients admitted to a chronic patient care unit. Results: We performed a Fisher's exact test based on a contingency table including N = 132 patients with heart failure and atrial fibrillation exposed to the presence of hypertension, as well as N = 105 patients with heart failure in sinus rhythm without hypertension (nominal values of the groups are shown in Fig. 1). With the risk for the exposed (R1) being 0.557 and the risk for the unexposed (R0) 0.52, we obtained an RR of 1.071, meaning that patients with hypertension have a 1.071-fold increased risk of developing atrial fibrillation in patients with heart failure. Also, there is an association between atrial fibrillation and hypertension (RR>1). Conclusions: The link between atrial fibrillation, heart failure and hypertension is a well-debated topic in the medical world. In this study, we illustrated that although hypertension represents a frequent comorbidity, in patients with heart failure it encounters more often in association with atrial fibrillation, rather than in patients with sinus rhythm. This finding has led us to believe that our aim as medical practitioners would consist in a better blood pressure control, as well as improved treatment adherence, in order to prevent the development of atrial fibrillation and heart failure pathogenesis.