The American journal of cardiology
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Ability of Reduced Lung Function to Predict Development of Atrial Fibrillation in Persons Aged 45 to 84 Years (from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis-Lung Study).
Atrial fibrillation (AF) occurs frequently in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Epidemiologic studies have found inconsistent associations between lung function and AF, and none have studied pulmonary emphysema, which overlaps only partially with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the general population. The aim of this study was to assess the relation among lung function measured by spirometry, the percentage of emphysema-like lung on computed tomography, and incident AF. ⋯ Lower levels of forced expiratory volume at 1 second and forced vital capacity were associated with a higher risk for AF (hazard ratios 1.21 and 1.19 per 500 ml, respectively, p <0.001) after adjustment for demographic and cardiovascular risk factors. Percentage emphysema was not significantly related to AF. In conclusion, in a multiethnic community-based sample of subjects free of cardiovascular disease at baseline, functional airflow limitation was related to a higher risk for AF.