WEDNESDAY, April 17, 2024 (HealthDay News) — For patients with adult congenital heart disease, arrythmias are a significant comorbidity and are associated with health care use and increased mortality, according to a study published online April 17 in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Nili Schamroth Pravda, M.B.B,Ch., from the Rabin Medical Center in Petach Tikva, Israel, and colleagues examined arrhythmia prevalence, risk factors, and associated health care use in a cohort of 11,653 patients with adult congenital heart disease.

The researchers found that at baseline, 8.7 percent of the patients had tachyarrhythmia, 1.5 percent had a conduction disturbance, and 0.5 percent had both. Of those without a baseline arrhythmia, 9.2, 0.9, and 0.3 percent developed tachyarrhythmias, a conduction disturbance, and both, respectively, during the study period between January 2007 and December 2011. Arrhythmia in the previous six months was associated with higher multivariable adjusted hospitalization rates, which were 1.33-, 1.27-, and 1.33-fold higher for ventricular arrythmia, atrial arrhythmias, and atrioventricular block, respectively, compared with the reference group. The adjusted hazard ratio for mortality was 1.65 and 2.06 in association with atrial tachyarrhythmias and ventricular tachyarrhythmias, respectively.

“Arrhythmias are common comorbidities in the adult congenital heart disease population and have a significant impact on health care usage and survival,” the authors write. “This should be taken into consideration in this population in which lifelong follow-up is needed.”

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