Introduction
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common arrhythmia in the general
population and ranks third in incidence in patients with myocardial
infarction (MI) after sinus bradycardia and sinus
tachycardia.1 Previous studies have reported a wide
variety in the prevalence rates of AF in the MI population. European
Society of Cardiology (ESC) 2017 Guidelines for the management of acute
myocardial infarction in patients presenting with ST-segment elevation
(STEMI) reported prevalence rates as high as 21% for MI
patients.2 AF can result in undesired in-hospital
outcomes such as recurrent coronary ischemia, congestive heart failure,
or stroke, as well as the need for long-term oral anticoagulation use,
which increases rates of bleeding complications. Preexisting, known
coronary artery disease (CAD) is a well-recognized comorbidity in
patients with AF. CAD and other comorbidities carry the risk for
incident AF. Interestingly, there is scarce demographic and clinical
information in the literature on AF in the MI population without a
history of CAD and coronary revascularization. Evidence for acute
management and long-term treatment strategies such as oral
anticoagulation are not clear and should be
identified.3
This study aimed to determine prevalence rates of AF in de novo MI
patients without revascularization history and to compare the
demographic, clinical, and angiographic characteristics of patients with
and without AF in the de novo MI population in Turkey.