COVID-19 pandemic and initiation of treatment for atrial fibrillation: a nationwide analysis of claims data

Table 1 Baseline Patient Characteristics

Variable	Overall Cohort (n = 573,524)
Demographics
Female, No. (%)	275,576 (48.0)
Age, Mean ± Std.	73.0 ± 10.9
Age, years
< 50, No. (%)	20,446 (3.6)
50–64, No. (%)	76,457 (13.3)
65–74, No. (%)	197,686 (34.5)
>=75, No. (%)	278,935 (48.6)
Race and Ethnicity^a
Non-Hispanic White, No. (%)	425,699 (74.2)
Non-Hispanic Black, No. (%)	57,674 (10.1)
Hispanic, No. (%)	49,474 (8.6)
Other, No. (%)	40,677 (7.1)
Clinical Characteristics
CHA₂DS₂-VASc Score^b
Low Risk, No. (%)	28,789 (5.0)
Moderate Risk, No. (%)	54,786 (9.6)
High Risk, No. (%)	489,949 (85.4)
HAS-BLED Score^c
0, No. (%)	24,286 (4.2)
1–2, No. (%)	273,960 (47.8)
>=3, No. (%)	275,278 (48.0)
Health Insurance Factors
Medicare, No. (%)	484,852 (84.5)
Medicare/Medicaid Dual Eligible, No. (%)	33,996 (5.9)
Receipt of Low-Income Subsidy, No. (%)	45,690 (8.0)
Health Savings Account, No. (%)	15,416 (2.7)
Plan Type
Health Maintenance Organization, No. (%)	146,010 (25.5)
Preferred Provider Organization, No. (%)	43,365 (7.6)
Point of Service, No. (%)	59,600 (10.4)
Exclusive Provider Organization, No. (%)	8673 (1.5)
Other, No. (%)	315,876 (55.1)

Abbreviations: AF, atrial fibrillation
a Reported race and ethnicity, dependent on statistical de-identification rules for race based on geography, Other race included Asian and Unknown
b CHA2DS2-VASc gives one point for each of the following factors: age 65 to 74 years, congestive heart failure, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, vascular disease, and female sex, and two points for age ≥ 75 years, and a history of stroke or transient ischemic attack. Female with CHA₂DS₂-VASc Score < 2, =2 and > 2 were defined as low risk, moderate risk and high risk, respectively. Male with CHA₂DS₂-VASc Score < 1, =1 and > 1 were defined as low risk, moderate risk and high risk, respectively
c HAS-BLED is calculated on the basis of following risk factors: age > 65 years, hypertension, renal disease, liver disease, stroke and bleeding history, drugs or alcohol use. Because claims data do not include international normalized ratio (INR) information, we calculated HAS-BLED score as the sum of all above factors except for labile INR.

ISSN: 1471-2261