Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and the Risk of Atrial Fibrillation

Mahmoud A.  Abou Omar; Ahmed  Alaarag; Sherief Abd-Elsalam; Mohamed  El-Abgeegy; Rehab Ahmed; Ahmed Abdelhaleem  Mohamed; Mahmoud  Khalil; Yousry Esam-Eldin  Abo-Amer; Mahmoud Elkadeem; Mohamed Yousef

doi:10.3889/oamjms.2020.4319

Authors

Mahmoud A. Abou Omar Department of Cardiology, Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt
Ahmed Alaarag Department of Cardiology, Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt
Sherief Abd-Elsalam Department of Tropical Medicine, Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt
Mohamed El-Abgeegy Department of Hepatology, Tropical Medicine and Infectious Diseases, National Hepatology and Tropical Medicine Research Institute, Cairo, Egypt
Rehab Ahmed Department of Hepatology, Tropical Medicine and Infectious Diseases, National Hepatology and Tropical Medicine Research Institute, Cairo, Egypt
Ahmed Abdelhaleem Mohamed Department of Hepatology, Tropical Medicine and Infectious Diseases, National Hepatology and Tropical Medicine Research Institute, Cairo, Egypt
Mahmoud Khalil Department of Hepatology, Tropical Medicine and Infectious Diseases, National Hepatology and Tropical Medicine Research Institute, Cairo, Egypt
Yousry Esam-Eldin Abo-Amer Department of Hepatology, Gastroenterology and Infectious Diseases, Mahala Hepatology Teaching Hospital, Gharbia, Egyp
Mahmoud Elkadeem Department of Tropical Medicine, Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt
Mohamed Yousef Department of Tropical Medicine, Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3889/oamjms.2020.4319

Keywords:

Atrial fi brillation, Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, Liver disease, Obesity, Cardiac disease, Prevalence

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is now the factor behind the development of liver cirrhosis, liver cell failure, and liver transplantation in many cases. However, its relation to atrial fibrillation (AF) could not be cleared up.

AIM: The purpose of the study was to evaluate prevalence of AF in the setting of NAFLD; the association between them, and to evaluate risk factors of AF in this category of patients.

METHODS: This cross-sectional study was performed on 400 patients between January 2018 and June 2019. These patients were analyzed for the presence of NAFLD and presence of persistent or chronic AF.

RESULTS: There were 138 patients with NAFLD, and 20 patients with persistent or permanent AF. Factors associated with AF were old age, male gender, and high values of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine-aminotransferase, γ-glutamyltranspeptidase, and serum uric acid. The participants with AF had a significantly greater prevalence of NAFLD than those without AF.

CONCLUSION: Incidence and prevalence of atrial fibrillation in NAFLD patients were high. Severity of liver disease was an important predictor of new-onset atrial fibrillation.

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