Prevalence and associated factors of atrial fibrillation among acute stroke patients at public referral hospitals in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia, 2024: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND

Stroke prevalence and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) lost are rising in Sub-Saharan Africa, where atrial fibrillation (AF) commonly associated with rheumatic valvular heart disease is prevalent. Despite this, there is a paucity of data regarding the association between atrial fibrillation and acute stroke in this region.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the prevalence of atrial fibrillation and associated factors in acute stroke patients admitted to public referral hospitals from 2020 to 2023, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.

METHODS

Institution based retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted, using sample size of 326, among acute stroke patients who were admitted to two public hospitals, from January 2020 to December 2023, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. Pre-developed check list was used to extract data from the medical registry. Data were entered using Epi data manager version 4.6 and analyzed using SPSS version 27. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used, considering a p-value of < 0.05 as statically significant, with a 95% confidence interval.

RESULTS

The proportion of atrial fibrillation among acute stroke patients was 29.1% (95% CI, 24.3-34.4%). The mean age of the participants was 61.63 years [SD ± 16.24]. Age ≥ 65 years (AOR = 4.37, 95% CI 1.618-11.8), hypertension (AOR = 2, 95% CI 1.12-3.5), heart failure (AOR = 4.95, 95% CI 1.7-14.3) and rheumatic heart disease (AOR = 5.7, 95% CI 1.7-18.8) were significant factors associated with atrial fibrillation in acute stroke patients.

CONCLUSION

This study found a high prevalence of atrial fibrillation among acute stroke patients, with many cases newly diagnosed at presentation. It recommends targeted policies and screening programs to address atrial fibrillation risk factors, particularly in high-risk groups. Further large-scale research is needed to better understand the association between atrial fibrillation and stroke.