Table 1.
Patient Characteristics at Time of Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation Diagnosis, 2009–2014 (N=223,891)*
| Characteristic | Cardiology 153,822 (69%) |
Primary Care 70,069 (31%) |
|---|---|---|
| Age, mean ± SD (years) | 70 ± 12 | 74 ± 12 |
| Women | 41% | 50% |
| White | 85% | 83% |
| Black | 8% | 10% |
| Hispanic | 5% | 5% |
| Asian | 2% | 2% |
| Education | ||
| High school or less | 30% | 33% |
| Some college | 55% | 55% |
| College or more | 14% | 11% |
| Unknown | <1% | <1% |
| Heart failure | 32% | 30% |
| Hypertension | 82% | 83% |
| Diabetes mellitus | 33% | 35% |
| Stroke | 24% | 27% |
| Myocardial infarction | 14% | 12% |
| Peripheral artery disease | 3% | 3% |
| CHA2DS2-VASc, mean ± SD | 3.6 ± 2.0 | 3.9 ± 1.9 |
| Kidney disease | 16% | 20% |
| Liver disease | 7% | 9% |
| Alcohol use | 2% | 4% |
| Bleeding history | 21% | 25% |
| Antiplatelet agents | 14% | 9% |
| HAS-BLED, mean ± SD | 2.5 ± 1.4 | 2.7 ± 1.3 |
| ACE inhibitors | 35% | 31% |
| Angiotensin II receptor blocker | 17% | 14% |
| Beta blockers | 57% | 44% |
| Calcium channel blockers | 32% | 31% |
| Diuretics | 34% | 34% |
| Antiarrhythmic agents | 15% | 6% |
| Digoxin | 9% | 8% |
Statistical significance for continuous data was tested using the Student’s t-test and categorical data was tested using the Chi-square test. All p-values were significant at p<0.001 except peripheral artery disease (p=0.40) and diuretics (p=0.33).
ACE=angiotensin-converting-enzyme; CHA2DS2-VASc=congestive heart failure, hypertension, age ≥75 years, diabetes mellitus, stroke/transient ischemic attack, vascular disease, age 65–75 years, and sex category; HAS-BLED=hypertension, abnormal renal/liver function, stroke, bleeding history or predisposition, labile international normalized ratio, elderly (age >65 years), drugs/alcohol concomitantly; SD=standard deviation.