Alcohol abuse tied to death during arrhythmia hospitalizations of younger patients
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Among patients younger than 55 years hospitalized for arrhythmia, those with alcohol abuse disorder experienced a 72% greater risk for in-hospital death compared with those without alcohol abuse disorder, researchers reported.
According to data presented at the virtual American Heart Association’s Basic Cardiovascular Sciences Scientific Sessions, patients in the cohort hospitalized for arrhythmia who abused alcohol tended to be white men on the older side of the age bracket (68% aged 45 to 54 years; 69% white; 86% men).
“Alcohol abuse has harmful effects on physical health, leading to more illness and death in patients with heart problems. This is the first study to explore whether alcohol abuse is a risk factor for death in patients hospitalized with arrhythmia,” Rikinkumar S. Patel, MD, MPH, resident physician in the department of psychiatry at Griffin Memorial Hospital in Norman, Oklahoma, said in a press release.
For this analysis, researchers used the National Inpatient Sample to identify 114,958 individuals aged 15 to 54 years who were hospitalized for arrhythmia. Investigators grouped the cohort by comorbid alcohol abuse to assess its impact on mortality.
Overall, mortality was more prevalent among patients with alcohol abuse disorder compared with those without (1.9% vs. 1.4%).
After adjusting for demographics and CV comorbidities, alcohol abuse increased the risk for mortality during arrhythmia hospitalization by 72% (OR = 1.7; 95% CI, 1.4-2.1).
According to the presentation, the risk for death was greater among patients aged 45 to 54 years (OR = 2; 95% CI, 1.5-3.1) compared with younger patients and among women compared with men (OR for men = 0.8; 95% CI, 0.7-0.9).
Moreover, presence of atherosclerosis (OR = 4.5; 95% CI, 3.4-5.9) and/or diabetes (OR = 1.4; 95% CI, 1.2-1.7) was associated with greater risk for in-hospital mortality in the cohort.
“Physicians should educate patients with alcohol problems about their risk of hospitalization for arrhythmia and their increased risk of death,” Patel said in the release. “Integrated care models need to be developed to formulate strategies to counter problematic alcohol use and improve the health-related quality of life of patients.”
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Patel RS, et al. Presentation 484. Presented at: American Heart Association’s Basic Cardiovascular Sciences Scientific Sessions; July 27-30, 2020 (virtual meeting).
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