Incidence, Management, and Associated Clinical Outcomes of New-Onset Atrial Fibrillation Following Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement: An Analysis From the STS/ACC TVT Registry.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate incidence, care patterns, and clinical outcomes in patients developing new-onset atrial fibrillation (AF) following transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR).

Background: Pre-procedural AF has been associated with adverse outcomes in patients undergoing TAVR, but the incidence of new-onset AF, associated anticoagulant management, and subsequent clinical outcomes are unclear.

Methods: Using the Society of Thoracic Surgeons/American College of Cardiology TVT (Transcatheter Valve Therapy) Registry linked with Medicare claims, patients undergoing TAVR from 2011 to 2015 who developed post-procedural AF were evaluated. Patients with known AF prior to TAVR were excluded. Outcomes of interest included in-hospital mortality and stroke and all-cause mortality, stroke, and bleeding at 12 months. Multivariate adjustment was then performed to determine differences in 1-year outcomes among those with and without new post-procedural AF, stratified by anticoagulation status.

Results: We identified 1,138 of 13,556 patients (8.4%) who developed new onset AF (4.4% of transfemoral [TF]-access patients, 16.5% of non-TF-access patients). Patients developing AF were older, more likely female, had higher Society of Thoracic Surgeons risk scores, and were often treated using non-TF access. Despite having a median CHADS-VASc score of 5 (25th and 75th percentile: 5 to 6), only 28.9% of patients with new AF were discharged on oral anticoagulation. In-hospital mortality (7.8% vs. 3.4%; p < 0.01) and stroke (4.7% vs. 2.0%; p < 0.01) were higher among patients who developed post-procedural AF compared with those who did not. At 1 year, rates of death (adjusted hazard ratio [HR]: 1.37; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.19 to 1.59), stroke (adjusted HR: 1.50; 95% CI: 1.14 to 1.98), and bleeding (adjusted HR: 1.24; 95% CI: 1.10 to 1.40) were higher among patients with new-onset AF. One-year mortality rates were highest among patients who developed new-onset AF but were not discharged on anticoagulation.

Conclusions: Post-TAVR AF occurred in 8.4% of patients (4.4% with TF access, 16.5% with non-TF access), with fewer than one-third of patients receiving anticoagulation at discharge, and was associated with increased risk for in-hospital and 1-year mortality and stroke. Given the clinical significance of post-TAVR AF, additional studies are necessary to delineate the optimal management strategy in this high-risk population.