Effects of Mineralocorticoid Receptor Antagonists on Atrial Fibrillation Occurrence: A Systematic Review, Meta‐Analysis, and Meta‐Regression to Identify Modifying Factors

International audienceBackgroundMineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (MRAs) have emerged as potential atrial fibrillation (AF) preventive therapy, but inconsistent results have been reported. We aimed to examine the effects of MRAs on AF occurrence and explore factors that could influence the magnitude of the effect size.Methods and ResultsPubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Central databases were used to search for randomized clinical trials and observational studies addressing the effect of MRAs on AF occurrence from database inception through April 03, 2018. We performed a systematic review and random effects meta‐analyses to compute odds ratios with 95% CIs. Meta‐regression was then applied to explore the sources of between‐study heterogeneity. We included 24 studies, 11 randomized clinical trials and 13 observational cohorts, representing a total number of 7914 patients (median age: 64.2 years; median left ventricular ejection fraction: 49.7%; median follow‐up: 12.0 months), 2843 (35.9%) of whom received MRA therapy. Meta‐analyses showed a significant overall reduction in AF occurrence in the MRA‐treated patients versus the control groups (15.0% versus 32.2%; odds ratio, 0.55; 95% CI, 0.44–0.70 [P<0.00001]), with the greatest benefit regarding recurrent AF episodes (odds ratio, 0.42; 95% CI, 0.31–0.59 [P<0.00001]) and with significant heterogeneity among the included studies (I2=54%; P=0.0008). Meta‐regression analyses showed that effect size was significantly associated with older studies and higher AF occurrence rate in the control groups.ConclusionsMRAs seem to be effective in AF prevention, especially regarding recurrent AF episodes

Relation of outcomes to ABC (Atrial Fibrillation Better Care) pathway adherent care in European patients with atrial fibrillation: an analysis from the ESC-EHRA EORP Atrial Fibrillation General Long-Term (AFGen LT) Registry

International audienceAbstract Aims There has been an increasing focus on integrated, multidisciplinary, and holistic care in the treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF). The ‘Atrial Fibrillation Better Care’ (ABC) pathway has been proposed to streamline integrated care in AF. We evaluated the impact on outcomes of an ABC adherent management in a contemporary real-life European-wide AF cohort. Methods and results Patients enrolled in the ESC-EHRA EURObservational Research Programme in AF General Long-Term Registry with baseline data to evaluate ABC criteria and available follow-up data were considered for this analysis. Among the original 11 096 AF patients enrolled, 6646 (59.9%) were included in this analysis, of which 1996 (30.0%) managed as ABC adherent. Patients adherent to ABC care had lower CHA2DS2-VASc and HAS-BLED scores (mean ± SD, 2.68 ± 1.57 vs. 3.07 ± 1.90 and 1.26 ± 0.93 vs. 1.58 ± 1.12, respectively; P &lt; 0.001). At 1-year follow-up, patients managed adherent to ABC pathway compared to non-adherent ones had a lower rate of any thromboembolic event (TE)/acute coronary syndrome (ACS)/cardiovascular (CV) death (3.8% vs. 7.6%), CV death (1.9% vs. 4.8%), and all-cause death (3.0% vs. 6.4%) (all P &lt; 0.0001). On Cox multivariable regression analysis, ABC adherent care showed an association with a lower risk of any TE/ACS/CV death [hazard ratio (HR): 0.59, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.44–0.79], CV death (HR: 0.52, 95% CI: 0.35–0.78), and all-cause death (HR: 0.57, 95% CI: 0.43–0.78). Conclusion In a large contemporary cohort of European AF patients, a clinical management adherent to ABC pathway for integrated care is associated with a significant lower risk for cardiovascular events, CV death, and all-cause death