Feinberg W M, Blackshear J L, Laupacis A, Kronmal R, Hart R G
Department of Neurology, University of Arizona Health Sciences Center, Tucson.
Arch Intern Med. 1995 Mar 13;155(5):469-73.
The prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF) is related to age. Anticoagulation is highly effective in preventing stroke in patients with AF, but the risk of hemorrhage may be increased in older patients. We reviewed the available epidemiologic data to define the age and sex distribution of people with AF. From four large recent population-based surveys, we estimated the overall age- and gender-specific prevalence of AF. These estimates were applied to the recent US census data to calculate the number of men and women with AF in each age group. There are an estimated 2.2 million people in the United States with AF, with a median age of about 75 years. The prevalence of AF is 2.3% in people older than 40 years and 5.9% in those older than 65 years. Approximately 70% of individuals with AF are between 65 and 85 years of age. The absolute number of men and women with AF is about equal. After age 75 years, about 60% of the people with AF are women. In contrast to people with AF in the general population, patients with AF in recent anticoagulation trials had a mean age of 69 years, and only 20% were older than 75 years. The risks and benefits of antithrombotic therapy in older individuals are important considerations in stroke prevention in AF.
心房颤动（AF）的患病率与年龄相关。抗凝治疗在预防AF患者中风方面非常有效，但老年患者出血风险可能会增加。我们回顾了现有的流行病学数据，以确定AF患者的年龄和性别分布。从最近四项基于人群的大型调查中，我们估计了AF总体的年龄和性别特异性患病率。这些估计值应用于最近的美国人口普查数据，以计算每个年龄组中患有AF的男性和女性人数。据估计，美国有220万人患有AF，中位年龄约为75岁。40岁以上人群中AF的患病率为2.3%，65岁以上人群中为5.9%。约70%的AF患者年龄在65至85岁之间。患有AF的男性和女性绝对数量大致相等。75岁以后，约60%的AF患者为女性。与一般人群中的AF患者相比，最近抗凝试验中的AF患者平均年龄为69岁，只有20%的患者年龄超过75岁。在AF的中风预防中，老年个体抗栓治疗的风险和益处是重要的考虑因素。
