Table 2.
Age‐ and Sex‐Adjusted Rates of Initial Evaluation of Newly Diagnosed Atrial Fibrillation by Data Source and Index Yeara
| Evaluations | MarketScan Sample | Medicare 5% Cohort | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 (n = 9734) | 2007 (n = 8000) | P Value | 2004 (n = 25 087) | 2007 (n = 22 689) | P Value | |
| Guideline‐recommended evaluations, no. (%) | ||||||
| Physician evaluation and management visit (history and physical) | 9566 (98.3) | 7921 (99.0) | <0.001 | 24 939 (99.4) | 22 559 (99.4) | 0.01 |
| Any electrocardiogram | 8280 (85.1) | 7158 (89.5) | <0.001 | 22 319 (89.0) | 20 575 (90.7) | 0.005 |
| Echocardiogram | 5973 (61.4) | 5512 (68.9) | <0.001 | 15 204 (60.6) | 14 726 (64.9) | <0.001 |
| Blood test of thyroid function | 2623 (26.9) | 2536 (31.7) | <0.001 | 7700 (30.7) | 7754 (34.2) | <0.001 |
| Blood test of renal function | 4563 (46.9) | 4434 (55.4) | <0.001 | 18 157 (72.4) | 17 284 (76.2) | <0.001 |
| Blood test of hepatic function | 3367 (34.6) | 3348 (41.8) | <0.001 | 12 246 (48.8) | 12 785 (56.4) | <0.001 |
| Completion of all guideline‐recommended evaluations for atrial fibrillation | 1208 (12.4) | 1388 (17.4) | <0.001 | 3561 (14.2) | 4191 (18.5) | <0.001 |
| Additional evaluations, no. (%) | ||||||
| 6‐minute walk test | 15 (0.2) | 23 (0.3) | 0.06 | 72 (0.3) | 128 (0.6) | <0.001 |
| Exercise stress test | 2721 (28.0) | 2388 (29.9) | 0.001 | 5299 (21.1) | 4827 (21.3) | <0.001 |
| Holter monitoring | 1282 (13.2) | 1180 (14.8) | 0.002 | 3535 (14.1) | 3482 (15.3) | 0.04 |
| Transesophageal echocardiography | 881 (9.0) | 919 (11.5) | <0.001 | 1699 (6.8) | 1943 (8.6) | <0.001 |
| Chest x‐ray | 6258 (64.3) | 5526 (69.1) | <0.001 | 18 562 (74.0) | 16 906 (74.5) | <0.001 |
Percentages are standardized to the age and sex distributions of the pooled cohorts of patients with atrial fibrillation in each data source.