Table 1.
Baseline Characteristics
| Characteristic | All Patients (n=79,232) | Rhythm Control (n=12,408) | Rate Control (n=66,824) | p-Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, yrs, median (IQR) | 57 (51–61) | 57 (51–61) | 57 (51–61) | 0.08 |
| Male sex, % | 64 | 67 | 64 | <0.0001 |
| Geographic region, % | <0.0001 | |||
| North central | 30 | 30 | 30 | |
| Northeast | 14 | 9 | 15 | |
| South | 39 | 45 | 38 | |
| West | 15 | 14%) | 15 | |
| Unknown | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Year of IE, % | <0.0001 | |||
| 2006 | 9 | 8 | 10 | |
| 2007 | 17 | 17 | 17 | |
| 2008 | 24 | 23 | 24 | |
| 2009 | 27 | 26 | 27 | |
| 2010 | 23 | 25 | 22 | |
| Index AF encounter hosp., % | 24 | 40 | 21 | <0.0001 |
| Discharged to self-care, n/N (%) | 15,251/18,987 (80) | 3913/4945 (79) | 11,338/14,042 (81) | 0.01 |
| Electrical cardioversion during IE, % | 2 | 7 | 1 | <0.0001 |
| AF ablation during IE, % | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.05 | <0.0001 |
| AF is the primary diagnosis during IE, % | 82 | 87 | 81 | <0.0001 |
| Hosp. in 6 months before IE, % | ||||
| Cardiovascular | 17 | 28 | 15 | <0.0001 |
| Non-cardiovascular | 17 | 21 | 16 | <0.0001 |
| Medical history, % | ||||
| Atrial flutter | 9 | 17 | 8 | <0.0001 |
| Ischemic heart disease | 20 | 27 | 19 | <0.0001 |
| Diabetes | 20 | 20 | 20 | 0.3 |
| Hypertension | 51 | 56 | 50 | <0.0001 |
| Heart failure | 12 | 17 | 11 | <0.0001 |
| Cardiomyopathy | 1 | 2 | 1 | <0.0001 |
| Chronic rheumatic heart disease | 2 | 4 | 2 | <0.0001 |
| Other atrial arrhythmias | 5 | 6 | 4 | <0.0001 |
| Bradyarrhythmias | 2 | 3 | 2 | <0.0001 |
| Pacemaker | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.1 | <0.0001 |
| Renal failure | 6 | 7 | 5 | <0.0001 |
| Liver disease | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0.1 |
| Thyroid disease | 10 | 10 | 10 | 0.1 |
| Pulmonary disease | 14 | 17 | 13 | <0.0001 |
| Cancer | 9 | 12 | 9 | <0.0001 |
| Stroke | 5 | 6 | 5 | <0.0001 |
| Cerebral hemorrhage | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.8 |
| Depression | 7 | 6 | 7 | 0.6 |
| Obesity | 8 | 11 | 7 | <0.0001 |
| Non-rheumatic valvular heart disease | 15 | 22 | 14 | <0.0001 |
| Bleeding | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0.1 |
| Drug use during or within 6 months before IE, % | ||||
| Rate-controlling drugs | ||||
| Beta-blocker alone | 35 | 73 | 67 | <0.0001 |
| Digoxin alone | 2 | 2 | 4 | <0.0001 |
| CCB alone | 6 | 10 | 11 | <0.0001 |
| Combination of drugs | 9 | 7 | 9 | <0.0001 |
| QT-prolonging drugs | ||||
| Definite | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0.96 |
| Possible | 17 | 16 | 17 | <0.0001 |
| Warfarin/dabigatran | 33 | 41 | 32 | <0.0001 |
AF indicates atrial fibrillation; IE, index encounter; CCB, calcium channel blocker; hosp., hospitalization; IQR, interquartile range.