Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), and its presence is associated with a higher risk of stroke and mortality.
Material and methods: The FAERC study performed a retrospective multicentre analysis of historical cohorts in which data were collected from arrhythmia diagnosis onwards.
Results: We analysed a Spanish cohort of 4749 patients with CKD (mean eGFR 33.9 mL/min) followed up in the nephrology clinic, observing a 12.2% prevalence of non-valvular AF. In total, 98.6% of these patients were receiving anticoagulant treatment, mainly with coumarins (79.7%). Using direct-acting oral anticoagulants (DOACs) was associated with fewer cerebrovascular events than using acenocoumarol, but in contrast with other studies, we could not corroborate the association of risk of bleeding, coronary events, or death with a type of anticoagulant prescribed.
Conclusions: Atrial fibrillation is highly prevalent in renal patients. Direct-acting anticoagulants seem to be associated with fewer ischemic-embolic complications, with no differences in bleeding, coronary events, or mortality rates.
Keywords: atrial fibrillation; chronic kidney disease; coumarins; direct-action anticoagulants; haemorrhage; ischemic stroke; mortality; prevalence.