Background: Little is known about whether atrial fibrillation is a presentation of coronary disease. There is a paucity of knowledge about their causal relationship and also the impact of different antithrombotic strategies on the subsequent presentation of symptomatic coronary disease.
Methods and results: We studied 7,526 Chinese patients diagnosed with non-valvular atrial fibrillation and no documented history of coronary artery disease. The primary endpoint was the new occurrence of coronary artery disease--either stable coronary artery disease or acute coronary syndrome. After a mean follow-up of 3.2±3.5 years (24,071 patient-years), a primary endpoint occurred in 987 patients (13.1%). The overall annual incidence of coronary artery disease was 4.10%/year. No significant differences in age, sex, and mean CHA2DS2-VASc score were observed between patients with and without the primary endpoint. When stratified according to the antithrombotic strategies applied for stroke prevention, the annual incidence of coronary artery disease was 5.49%/year, 4.45%/year and 2.16%/year respectively in those prescribed no antithrombotic therapy, aspirin, and warfarin. Similar trends were observed in patients with acute coronary syndromes. Diabetes mellitus, smoking history and renal failure requiring dialysis were predictors for primary endpoint in all antithrombotic therapies.
Conclusion: In patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation, there is a modest association with coronary artery disease. Patients prescribed warfarin had the lowest risk of new onset coronary artery disease.