Onur ARGAN, Özge ÖZGÜN, Özgen ŞAFAK, Tarık YILDIRIM, Mehmet Tolga HEKİM, Seda Elçim YILDIRIM, Didar Elif AKGÜN, Eyüp AVCI, Halil Lütfi KISACIK
Balıkesir Medical Journal - 2026;10(1):1-10
Objective: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia worldwide. Its prevalence increases significantly with age. Therefore, it is particularly important in the elderly population. Despite this, elderly patients have been underrepresented in clinical studies, and optimal medical treatment has been less frequently provided to this group. The aim of this study is to identify age-related patterns in elderly patients and to evaluate their relationship with comorbidities. Materials and Methods: 118 patients with permanent AF aged >=75 years (middle-old) and 153 patients with permanent AF aged 65-74 years (youngest-old) were retrospectively evaluated. Demographic, biochemical and echocardiographic parameters were compared between groups. Results: There were 85 cases (72%) of hypertension, 43 cases (36%) of diabetes mellitus, 56 cases (48%) of coronary artery disease in patients with AF aged >=75 years. There were 91 cases (60%) of hypertension, 43 cases (28%) of diabetes mellitus, 60 cases (39%) of coronary artery disease in patients with AF aged 65-74 years. Patients with AF aged >=75 years had higher rates of hypertension, diabetes mellitus and coronary artery disease compared to the patients with AF aged 65-74 years (p=0.021, p=0.092, p=0.108, respectively). However, only hypertension reached statistical significance. Also, creatinine [1.15+/-0.36 mg/dl vs 1.03+/-0.23 mg/dl, p=0.003], urea [53.4+/-29.8 mg/dl vs 41.4+/-15.5 mg/dl, p<0.001] levels were higher; whereas eGFR [54.9+/-14.8 ml/min vs 69.5+/-17.7 ml/min, p<0.001], hemoglobin (11.5+/-2.1 g/dl vs 12.9+/-1.8 g/dl, p<0.001) and albumin [3.67+/-0.54 g/dl vs 4+/-0.44 g/dl, p=0.003] levels were lower in patients with AF aged >=75 years compared to the patients with AF aged 65-74 years. Conclusion: Comorbidities especially hypertension, chronic kidney disease and anemia are more frequently observed in patients with AF as age increases. It is important to recognize that in elderly patients with AF, it is essential to manage not only the arrhythmia itself but also accompanying comorbidities.
