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.