Aims: Little is known about the prognostic role of pre-existing atrial fibrillation (AF) and new-onset AF (NOAF) in transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). Therefore, the aim of this meta-analysis was to compare the short- and long-term clinical outcomes of patients undergoing TAVI with and without pre-existing and new-onset AF.
Methods and results: Twenty-six studies, enrolling 14,078 patients undergoing TAVI, of whom 33.4% had pre-existing AF and 17.5% had NOAF, were analysed for early and long-term all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality and cerebrovascular events (CVE). In patients with pre-existing AF, 30-day all-cause mortality was similar to patients in sinus rhythm (SR). Conversely, long-term all-cause and cardiovascular mortality were significantly greater in pre-existing AF patients than in patients with SR (20 studies; 8,743 patients; HR: 1.68; p<0.00001, and three studies; 1,138 patients; HR: 2.07; p=0.01, respectively). Pre-existing AF was not a predictor of CVE at long-term follow-up. NOAF patients showed similar short- and long-term all-cause mortality when compared to patients in SR, whereas they experienced a significantly higher incidence of CVE at short-term follow-up (six studies; 2,025 patients; HR: 2.86; p<0.00001). A non-significant increase in the incidence of CVE was observed at long-term follow-up.
Conclusions: Pre-existing AF is a predictor of all-cause mortality in patients undergoing TAVI. NOAF is related to the occurrence of CVE at short-term follow-up. Similarly to surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR), the optimal management and risk stratification of these patients should be further investigated.