Atrial fibrillation linked to higher death and disease risks
Over a median 2.9 years, 76,412 people with atrial fibrillation died, compared with 34,555 matched controls without it in an English health-record study.
Limit: Sleep apnea and thyroid disease cause atrial fibrillation, so the order may be reversed
Edited by Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
The observational cohort study compared 173,519 people in England aged 16 or older with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation, an irregular heartbeat, with 173,519 people without it. Participants averaged 75.6 years old, and 48.7% were women. Researchers matched the groups by birth year and sex using linked health records from 1998–2021.
Estimated mortality at 10 years was 61.68% in the atrial fibrillation group. After accounting for the possibility of death before another diagnosis, the largest excess risks were for heart failure and heart valve disease, followed by stroke. Among conditions outside the heart and blood vessels, obstructive sleep apnea, in which blocked airflow interrupts breathing during sleep, and thyroid disease showed the largest excess risks. Risks differed by age, sex and socioeconomic deprivation.
Why it matters
The findings may inform how clinicians assess future health risks in older adults after an atrial fibrillation diagnosis, beyond their risk of stroke.
Caveats
This observational study cannot establish whether atrial fibrillation caused the later illnesses or deaths. The findings were reported in a conference abstract and did not cover children under 16.
The paper
Queen Mary University of London
ESC Congress 2026 Abstract, Oct 26, 2026
Presented at ESC Congress 2026
