8 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PATIENTS HOSPITALIZED FOR PAROXYSMAL ATRIAL FIBRILLATION AND HEART FAILURE WITH PRESERVED, MIDLY-REDUCED, AND SEVERELY-REDUCED EJECTION FRACTION


 
 
 Paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF), is a very common cardiac arrhythmya in patients with heart failure (HF). In the last five years we observed many patients with AF. Aim of this observation was to evaluate differences on clinical outcomes of a paroxysmal AF episode on patients with preserved (HFpEF), mildly reduced (HFmrEF), or severely-reduced (HFrEF) ejection fraction.
 
 
 
 439 patients consecutively hospitalized in our Cardiology Unit from January 2017 to January 2022 for paroxysmal AF were retrospectively evaluated. Of them, 201 presented without heart failure, 59 with a previously known HFpEF, 49 patients with HFmrEF, and 130 patients with HFrEF. For each patient, demographic and clinical characteristics, comorbidities, instrumental data and clinical outcomes (percentage of cardioverted arrhythmia, length of hospitalization) were collected. To examinate the correlations between characteristics of patients and clinical outcomes, chi-square or Pearson test were performed.
 
 
 
 patients with AF and HF were significantly older rather than AF patients without HF. No significantly differences we found between the three HF groups. The three groups of AF patients with HF presented more comorbidities rather than AF patients without HF. The duration of hospitalization were significantly longer for AF patients with HF rather than AF no-HF patient, without differences between the three goups . Percentage of cardioverted AF were significantly higher in no-HF patients rather than in HFrEF, but not in HFpEF and HFmrEF patients . In no-HF and in HF groups, age and length of hospitalizations were significantly correlated, but no differences we found between the groups. In the three HF groups, number of comorbidity were inversely correlated with percentage of cardioversion, but not in no-HF group. Age was significantly correlated with failure in attemps of cardioversion, without differences between HF and no-HF patients.
 
 
 
 our hospitalized patients for a newly onset AF and HF presented worse clinical outcomes rather AF patients without HF. This worsening clinical outcome, seem at least in part due to differences on age and comorbidities between the three groups, whereas cardiac systolic function seems not been significantly related with worse clinical outcomes.
