OBJECTIVE: To describe the prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and to evaluate the proportion of patients with AF receiving guideline-recommended anticoagulation for prevention of stroke, based on data from a large international audit. METHODS: The cohort was derived from the international audit SUrvey of cardiovascular disease Risk Factors in patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis (SURF-RA) which collected data from 17 countries during 2014-2019. We evaluated the prevalence of AF across world regions and explored factors associated with the presence of AF with multivariable logistic regression models. The proportion of AF patients at high risk of stroke (CHA2DS2-VASc ≥ 2 in males and ≥ 3 in females) receiving anticoagulation was examined. RESULTS: Of the total SURF-RA cohort (n = 14,503), we included RA cases with data on whether the diagnosis of AF was present or not (n = 7,665, 75.1% women, mean (SD) age 58.7 (14.1) years). A total of 288 (3.8%) patients had a history of AF (4.4% in North America, 3.4% in Western Europe, 2.8% in Central and Eastern Europe and 1.5% in Asia). Factors associated with the presence of AF were older age, male sex, atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, heart failure and hypertension. Two-hundred and fifty-five (88.5%) RA patients had a CHA2DS2-VASc score indicating recommendation for oral anticoagulant treatment, and of them, 164 (64.3%) were anticoagulated. CONCLUSION: Guideline-recommended anticoagulant therapy for prevention of stroke due to AF may not be optimally implemented among RA patients, and requires special attention.

Cardiology The University of Dublin Trinity College Dublin Ireland

Department of Rheumatology The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust Dudley UK

Division of Rheumatology and Research REMEDY Diakonhjemmet Hospital Oslo Norway

Inflammation Center Helsinki University Hospital Helsinki Finland

IQ Healthcare Radboud University Nijmegen Nijmegen the Netherlands

Preventive Cardio Rheuma Clinic Center for treatment of Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Diseases Diakonhjemmet Hospital Oslo Norway

Quantitative Health Sciences Mayo Clinic Rochester Rochester MN USA

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