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Symptom burden and treatment perception in patients with atrial fibrillation, with and without a family history of atrial fibrillation

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Abstract

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is known to aggregate within family and might be associated with a lower quality-of-life (QoL). We evaluated the association between a family history (FHx) of AF and patient-reported symptom burden and perception towards treatment. We performed a retrospective analysis in a cohort of 1285 newly diagnosed patients with AF. Patients completed the atrial fibrillation effect on quality of life (AFEQT) questionnaire at the time of registration and at the 1-year follow-up. Patients who had a first-degree relative with AF were classified into the FHx group. Baseline characteristics and AFEQT scores were compared between groups, and a multivariate analysis was used to evaluate the independent association between FHx and QoL. Overall, 15.9% of patients (n = 204) had a positive AF FHx. Compared to the non-FHx group, the FHx group had an earlier onset of AF (60.2 ± 12.0 years vs. 64.5 ± 12.1 years; P < 0.05) and lower AFEQT overall summary (AFEQT-OS) score at baseline (73.9 ± 17.8 vs. 77.0 ± 16.8; P < 0.05). After adjustment for clinical background, a positive FHx was independently associated with a worse QoL (changes in AFEQT-OS score = − 3.18; 95% confidence interval: − 5.67 to − 0.69; P = 0.012). No between-group difference in AFEQT-OS scores was noted at the 1-year follow-up. An FHx of AF was associated with a lower QoL, which could be improved by therapeutic intervention in patients with AF. Recognizing the presence of an FHx of AF is important to predict patient’s symptom load and treatment acceptance.

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Abbreviations

AF:

Atrial fibrillation

AFEQT:

Atrial fibrillation effects on quality of life

FHx:

Family history

QoL:

Quality of life

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Funding

This research was supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (grant no. 16H05215) and by an unrestricted research grant from Bayer Yakuhin Ltd.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cardiology, Keio University School of Medicine, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 160-8582, Japan

    Taishi Fujisawa, Takehiro Kimura, Shun Kohsaka, Nobuhiro Ikemura, Yoshinori Katsumata, Hiroshi Miyama, Kazuaki Nakajima, Takahiko Nishiyama, Yoshiyasu Aizawa, Keiichi Fukuda & Seiji Takatsuki

  2. Saitama City Hospital, Saitama, Japan

    Hideaki Kanki

  3. Keiyu Hospital, Kanagawa, Japan

    Keiichi Nagami

Authors
  1. Taishi Fujisawa
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  2. Takehiro Kimura
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  3. Shun Kohsaka
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  4. Nobuhiro Ikemura
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  5. Yoshinori Katsumata
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  8. Takahiko Nishiyama
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  12. Keiichi Fukuda
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  13. Seiji Takatsuki
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Seiji Takatsuki.

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Conflict of interest

Dr. Kohsaka received an unrestricted research grant for the Department of Cardiology at Keio University School of Medicine from Bayer Pharmaceutical and Daichi Sankyo. Dr. Takatsuki received honoraria from Bayer Pharmaceutical, Daiichi Sankyo, Bristrol Myers Squibb and Boehringer. The authors report no other relationships that could be construed as a conflict of interest.

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Fujisawa, T., Kimura, T., Kohsaka, S. et al. Symptom burden and treatment perception in patients with atrial fibrillation, with and without a family history of atrial fibrillation. Heart Vessels 36, 267–276 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00380-020-01687-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00380-020-01687-w

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