Impact of Blood Pressure Control on Thromboembolism and Major Hemorrhage in Patients With Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation: A Subanalysis of the J-RHYTHM Registry

Background-To clarify the influence of hypertension and blood pressure (BP) control on thromboembolism and major hemorrhage in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation, a post hoc analysis of the J-RHYTHM Registry was performed. Methods and Results-A consecutive series of outpatients with atrial fibrillation was enrolled from 158 institutions. Of 7937 patients, 7406 with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (70.8% men, 69.8 +/- 10.0 years) were followed for 2 years or until an event occurred. Hypertension was defined as a systolic BP >= 140 mm Hg, a diastolic BP >= 90 mm Hg, a history of hypertension, and/or antihypertensive drug use. Hypertension was an independent risk factor for major hemorrhage (hazard ratio 1.52, 95% CI 1.05-2.21, P=0.027) but not for thromboembolism (hazard ratio 1.05, 95% CI 0.73-1.52, P=0.787). When patients were divided into quartiles according to their systolic BP at the time closest to the event or at the end of follow-up (Q1, < 114; Q2, 114-125; Q3, 126-135; and Q4, >= 136 mm Hg), odds ratios for both events were significantly higher in Q4 than in Q1 (thromboembolism, odds ratio 2.88, 95% CI 1.75-4.74, P<0.001; major hemorrhage, odds ratio 1.61, 95% CI 1.02-2.53, P=0.041) after adjustment for components of CHA(2)DS(2)-VASc score, warfarin use, and antiplatelet use. A systolic BP of >= 136 mm Hg was an independent risk factor for thromboembolism and major hemorrhage. Conclusions-BP control appears to be more important than a history of hypertension and baseline BP values at preventing thromboembolism and major hemorrhage in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation.