Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics-2023 Update: A Report From the American Heart Association.

BACKGROUND: The American Heart Association, in conjunction with the National Institutes of Health, annually reports the most up-to-date statistics related to heart disease, stroke, and cardiovascular risk factors, including core health behaviors (smoking, physical activity, diet, and weight) and health factors (cholesterol, blood pressure, and glucose control) that contribute to cardiovascular health. The Statistical Update presents the latest data on a range of major clinical heart and circulatory disease conditions (including stroke, congenital heart disease, rhythm disorders, subclinical atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease, heart failure, valvular disease, venous disease, and peripheral artery disease) and the associated outcomes (including quality of care, procedures, and economic costs). METHODS: The American Heart Association, through its Epidemiology and Prevention Statistics Committee, continuously monitors and evaluates sources of data on heart disease and stroke in the United States to provide the most current information available in the annual Statistical Update with review of published literature through the year before writing. The 2023 Statistical Update is the product of a full year's worth of effort in 2022 by dedicated volunteer clinicians and scientists, committed government professionals, and American Heart Association staff members. The American Heart Association strives to further understand and help heal health problems inflicted by structural racism, a public health crisis that can significantly damage physical and mental health and perpetuate disparities in access to health care, education, income, housing, and several other factors vital to healthy lives. This year's edition includes additional COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) publications, as well as data on the monitoring and benefits of cardiovascular health in the population, with an enhanced focus on health equity across several key domains. RESULTS: Each of the chapters in the Statistical Update focuses on a different topic related to heart disease and stroke statistics. CONCLUSIONS: The Statistical Update represents a critical resource for the lay public, policymakers, media professionals, clinicians, health care administrators, researchers, health advocates, and others seeking the best available data on these factors and conditions.

COVID-19 pandemic and trends in new diagnosis of atrial fibrillation: A nationwide analysis of claims data.

BACKGROUND: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with a five-fold increased risk of stroke and a two-fold increased risk of death. We aimed to quantify changes in new diagnoses of AF following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Investigating changes in new diagnoses of AF is of relevance because delayed diagnosis interferes with timely treatment to prevent stroke, heart failure, and death. METHODS: Using De-identified Optum's Clinformatics® Data Mart, we identified 19,500,401 beneficiaries continuously enrolled for 12 months in 2016-Q3 2020 with no history of AF. The primary outcome was new AF diagnoses per 30-day interval. Secondary outcomes included AF diagnosis in the inpatient setting, AF diagnosis in the outpatient setting, and ischemic stroke as initial manifestation of AF. We constructed seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average models to quantify changes in new AF diagnoses after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic (3/11/2020, date of pandemic declaration). We tested whether changes in the new AF diagnoses differed by race and ethnicity. RESULTS: The average age of study participants was 51.0±18.5 years, and 52% of the sample was female. During the study period, 2.7% of the study sample had newly-diagnosed AF. New AF diagnoses decreased by 35% (95% CI, 21%-48%) after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, from 1.14 per 1000 individuals (95% CI, 1.05-1.24) to 0.74 per 1000 (95% CI, 0.64 to 0.83, p-value<0.001). New AF diagnoses decreased by 37% (95% CI, 13%- 55%) in the outpatient setting and by 29% (95% CI, 14%-43%) in the inpatient setting. The decrease in new AF diagnoses was similar across racial and ethnic subgroups. CONCLUSION: In a nationwide cohort of 19.5 million individuals, new diagnoses of AF decreased substantially following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings evidence pandemic disruptions in access to care for AF, which are concerning because delayed diagnosis interferes with timely treatment to prevent complications.

Design and rationale of the mobile health intervention for rural atrial fibrillation.

BACKGROUND: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a highly morbid condition which requires long-term adherence to oral anticoagulation and may be associated with adverse quality of life and health care utilization. We developed a relational agent-an interactive smartphone-based intervention accessible regardless of digital or health literacy-to assist individuals residing in rural, Western Pennsylvania, with AF with chronic disease self-management. METHODS: The "Mobile health intervention for rural atrial fibrillation" is a single center, parallel-arm randomized clinical trial for adults with AF funded by the National Institute of Health's National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to enroll 264 participants. All participants receive a smartphone with data plan: The intervention is a 4 month relational agent coupled with the AliveCor Kardia for heart rate and rhythm monitoring provided by smartphone, and the control a pre-installed, smartphone-based application for health-related information (WebMD). The study uses remote recruitment and engagement to enroll individuals who would otherwise be unlikely to participate in clinical research due to rurality. The primary outcome of the trial is adherence to oral anticoagulation, determined by proportion of days covered, as measured at 12 months. The secondary outcomes are quality of life, both AF-specific and general, and health care utilization. The study entails a baseline visit, a 4 month intervention phase, and 8 and 12 month follow-up visits. CONCLUSIONS: This mobile health trial tests the effectiveness of a smartphone-based relational agent to improve clinical and patient-reported outcomes in rural-dwelling individuals.

Effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on adversity in individuals receiving anticoagulation for atrial fibrillation: A nationally representative administrative health claims analysis.

BACKGROUND: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is strongly associated with clinical adversity, including increased hospitalization and bleeding and stroke events. We examined the effect of the SARS-2 Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on such events in individuals with AF receiving oral anticoagulation. METHODS: We employed medical and pharmacy claims spanning 2018-2020 from a nationally representative U.S. database (IQVIA Longitudinal Prescription, Medical Claims, and Institutional Claims). We selected individuals receiving oral anticoagulation in 2018 for AF and followed them from 1/1/2019-7/8/2020 for clinical events. We constructed interrupted time-series analyses across 30-day intervals with Poisson regression models to determine the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on clinical events. RESULTS: The dataset included 1,439,145 individuals (half with age ≥75 years; 47.6% women) receiving oral anticoagulation. We determined a 19% decrease in emergency room visits following the pandemic declaration and 8% decrease in inpatient admissions. In contrast admissions for stroke and bleeding were not affected by the declaration of the pandemic. DISCUSSION: These results describe the temporal effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on clinical adversity - hospitalizations, strokes, and bleeding events - in individuals receiving oral anticoagulation for AF. Our analysis quantifies the decrease in clinical adversity accompanying COVID-19 in a large, highly representative U.S. health claims database.

COVID-19 and Anticoagulation for Atrial Fibrillation: An Analysis of US Nationwide Pharmacy Claims Data.

Background Adherence to oral anticoagulation (OAC) is critical for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation. However, the COVID-19 pandemic may have disrupted access to such therapy. We hypothesized that our analysis of a US nationally representative pharmacy claims database would identify increased incidence of lapses in OAC refills during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods and Results We identified individuals with atrial fibrillation prescribed OAC in 2018. We used pharmacy dispensing records to determine the incidence of 7-day OAC gaps and 15-day excess supply for each 30-day interval from January 1, 2019 to July 8, 2020. We constructed interrupted time series analyses to test changes in gaps and supply around the pandemic declaration by the World Health Organization (March 11, 2020), and whether such changes differed by medication (warfarin or direct OAC), prescription payment type, or prescriber specialty. We identified 1 301 074 individuals (47.5% women; 54% age ≥75 years). Immediately following the COVID-19 pandemic declaration, we observed a 14% decrease in 7-day OAC gaps and 56% increase in 15-day excess supply (both P<0.001). The increase in 15-day excess supply was more marked for direct OAC (69% increase) than warfarin users (35%; P<0.001); Medicare beneficiaries (62%) than those with commercial insurance (43%; P<0.001); and those prescribed OAC by a cardiologist (64%) rather than a primary care provider (48%; P<0.001). Conclusions Our analysis of nationwide claims data demonstrated increased OAC possession after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings may have been driven by waivers of early refill limits and patients' tendency to stockpile medications in the first weeks of the pandemic.

Rurality and atrial fibrillation: a pathway to virtual engagement and clinical trial recruitment in response to COVID-19.

Study Objective: To summarize trial adaptation from in-clinic to virtual design in response to the SARS-2 coronavirus-2 (COVID-19). Design: A clinical trial of a mobile health intervention to improve chronic disease self-management for rural individuals with atrial fibrillation (AF). The trial has a 4-month intervention - accessible regardless of health or digital literacy - to enhance AF medication adherence and patient experience with 8- and 12-month assessments of sustainability. Setting: Rural, western Pennsylvania. Participants: Rural individuals with AF receiving oral anticoagulation for stroke prevention. Interventions: Enrolled participants underwent a telephone-based orientation, provided verbal consent, and were randomized using a digital platform. They received a smartphone with intervention or control applications and a curriculum on usage tailored for study arm. Participants received study assessments by mail with telephone-based administration and contact for the 12-month trial. Main Outcome Measures: Successful adaptation to virtual engagement and recruitment. Results: The study enrolled 18 participants during in-clinic recruitment (January-March 2020). From 5/1/2020 to 5/6/2021 the study team enrolled 130 individuals (median age 72.4 years, range 40.8-92.2; 49.2% women, 63.1% without college degree, and 45.4% with limited health literacy. Retention of participants enrolled using virtual methods during the 4-month intervention phase is 92%. Conclusions: We report a virtual trial of a mobile health intervention for rural individuals with AF. Our successful implementation suggests promise for engaging geographically isolated rural individuals, potential to enhance digital health access, and advance rural health equity.

Separate and Unequal: The Cost of Coronavirus Disease 2019 on Childhood Health and Well-Being.

The coronavirus disease 2019 has and will have an untoward effect on children. In this perspective we summarize the short- and long-term impact of the pandemic on childhood social and physical health. School closure has resulted in an absence of educational opportunity, alongside deprivations of social structure, essential food, and adult guidance, as well as augmented deprivation for the neediest students. The loss of educational attainment will have long-term effects on social mobility, employment and income, and health outcomes. We advocate for transdisciplinary approaches and outline priorities to address the pandemic's impact on schools, literacy, and childhood welfare.