Effect of age on long-term outcomes after stroke with atrial fibrillation: a hospital-based follow-up study in China

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is an established predictor of poor outcomes after stroke. We aimed to assess the effect of age on outcomes at 1 year and 3 years in stroke patients with AF. We recruited acute ischemic stroke patients with AF between January 2006 and September 2014 in Tianjin, China. Clinical features and outcomes at 1 year and 3 years after stroke were compared between younger group and elderly group. Overall, 951 consecutive stroke patients with AF were included in this study. There was a higher mortality and dependency rate in the elderly group than in the young group at both 1 and 3 years after stroke. Recurrence rates were significantly higher in the elderly group than in the young group at 3 years after stroke. The higher risks of mortality and dependency in elderly patients remained unchanged, but disappeared in recurrence rates after adjusting for stroke subtype, severity, risk factors, and lifestyle. These findings suggest that it is crucial to highlight the treatment of elderly stroke patients with AF in order to reduce poor outcomes and to reduce the burden of AF in China.