2026 American Academy of Neurology Abstract Website

Mohamed Hemida Saleh¹, Alyaa Ahmed Ibrahim¹, Maryam Saghir², Mahmoud Tablawy³, Ahmad Hamza⁴, Alaa El-Deeb¹, Sahil Jairamani⁵, Eshal Saghir⁶, Pakeezah Tabasum⁷, Ahmed Ebrahim³, Amro Ali⁸
¹Alexandria Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria, Egypt, ²Department of Medicine, Jinnah Sindh Medical University, Karachi, Pakistan, ³Faculty of Medicine, Al-azhar University, Cairo, Egypt, ⁴Department of Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, ⁵Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences, Jamshoro, Pakistan, ⁶Department of Medicine, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan, ⁷Peoples University of Medical and Health Sciences for Women, Nawabshah, Pakistan, ⁸Department of Medicine, Community Regional Medical Center, Fresno, California, USA

Objective:

This study aims to investigate mortality trends in elderly adults in the United States specifically attributed to Arrhythmia-associated Cerebrovascular Disease (ACVD).

Background:

Arrhythmias are a group of cardiac disorders that disrupt normal heart conduction and can lead to serious complications, including cerebrovascular disease. Both conditions contribute significantly to morbidity and mortality in the elderly. However, national mortality trends specifically exploring this association (ACVD) have not been examined.

Design/Methods:

Data from CDC WONDER (1999–2023) was used to identify U.S. mortality rates in adults aged 65 and older where arrhythmias (ICD-10: I47-I49) and cerebrovascular disease (ICD-10: I60-I69) were listed as contributing or underlying causes of death. Age-adjusted mortality rates (AAMRs) per 100,000 were calculated. Joinpoint regression was utilized to estimate annual percent change (APC) and average annual percent change (AAPC).

Results:

Between 1999 and 2023, a total of 733,476 deaths among elderly adults (≥65 years) were attributed to ACVD. The AAMR showed a slight upward trend from 72.14 in 1999 to 74.62 in 2023 (AAPC: 0.055, 95% CI: -0.62 to 0.74), with a significant increase from 65.51 in 2018 to 80.44 in 2021 (APC: 6.65). Men had higher AAMR than women during 1999-2023 with (73.97 to 81.27 vs 70.22 to 69.2). Non-Hispanic White individuals had the highest AAMR in 2021 (87.43) and the largest total number of deaths (631,483). The South recorded the most deaths (251,478). Non-metropolitan areas consistently had higher AAMRs compared to metropolitan areas (73.62 vs. 64.71). The majority of deaths occurred in inpatient medical facilities (38.73%, 284,079 deaths).

Conclusions:

Mortality from Arrhythmia-associated Cerebrovascular Disease has shown an increasing trend in the elderly U.S. population, with disparities by sex, race, and region. Most deaths occur in inpatient facilities, highlighting intervention needs.