Purpose: Atrial fibrillation (AF) can be a valuable indicator of non-obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD) among older patients indicated for elective coronary angiography (CAG). Appropriate stratification of AF patients is crucial for avoiding unnecessary complications. The objective of this study was to identify independent predictors that can allow diagnosing obstructive CAD in AF patients over 65 years who were indicated to undergo elective CAG. Patients and methods: This cross-sectional study included 452 (23.9%) AF patients over 65 years old who were directed to the Department of Invasive Cardiology at the Medical University of Bialystok for elective CAG during 2014−2016. The participants had CAD and were receiving optimal therapy (median age: 73 years, interquartile range: 69−77 years; 54.6% men). The prevalence and health correlates of obstructive CAD were determined, and a multivariate logistic regression model was generated with predictors (p < 0.1). Predictive performance was analyzed using a receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Results: Stenosis (affecting ≥ 50% of the diameter of the left coronary artery stem or ≥70% of that of the other important epicardial vessels) was significant in 184 (40.7%) cases. Multivariate regression analysis revealed that only the male sex (odds ratio [OR]: 1.80, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.14−2.84, p = 0.01) and the newly created CHA2DS2-VA score (OR: 3.96, 95% CI: 2.96−5.31, p < 0.001) significantly increased the chance of obstructive CAD, while controlling for chronic kidney disease and anemia. The ROC curve analysis indicated that the CHA2DS2-VA scale may be a useful screening tool for the diagnosis of obstructive CAD (area under the ROC curve: 0.79, 95% CI: 0.75−0.84, p < 0.001), with ≥4 being the optimal cutoff value. Conclusions: Our study has proven that several older AF patients who are advised to undergo elective CAG have nonobstructive CAD. The CHA2DS2-VA score can contribute to improving the selection of patients for invasive diagnosis of CAD, but further investigation is required.
Keywords: chronic coronary artery disease; geriatric patients; obstructive coronary lesions; predictive factors.