{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,21]],"date-time":"2026-08-21T10:26:19Z","timestamp":1787307979010,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":37,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"16","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,21]],"date-time":"2026-08-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787270400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"\u201cVictor Babe\u0219\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy"},{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/00afdp487","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["J. Clin. Med.","JCM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: Atrial fibrillation (AF) and heart failure (HF) frequently coexist, but later-pandemic data from Eastern Europe are limited. We evaluated their documented coexistence in patients hospitalized with COVID-19; the study was not designed to determine whether SARS-CoV-2 modifies the established AF\u2013HF relationship. Methods: We retrospectively analysed 395 adults admitted with RT-PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection between 1 September 2022 and 31 December 2024. AF was identified from the admission record, while HF was determined by an audited, rule-based review of cardiovascular free-text entries. A modified Poisson model with robust variance was the primary analysis and estimated adjusted prevalence ratios (aPRs) after adjustment for age, sex, body mass index, hypertension, ischaemic heart disease, pre-existing type 2 diabetes, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, smoking, and prior ischaemic stroke. Logistic regression and a restrictive NYHA-coded HF definition were sensitivity analyses. Results: AF was documented in 68 patients (17.2%), HF in 106 (26.8%), and both conditions in 26 (6.6%). HF prevalence was 38.2% among patients with AF and 24.5% among those without AF. AF was associated with documented HF in the primary model (aPR 1.51, 95% confidence interval 1.06\u20132.16; p = 0.022); age was also associated with HF (aPR 1.02 per year, 95% confidence interval 1.01\u20131.04; p = 0.010). Results were similar with the restrictive HF definition (aPR 1.54, 95% confidence interval 1.07\u20132.23) and logistic regression (adjusted odds ratio 1.89, 95% confidence interval 1.06\u20133.37). Exploratory mortality estimates were imprecise and were not used for prognostic inference. Conclusions: AF identified a subgroup with a higher prevalence of documented HF within this hospitalized COVID-19 cohort. The findings are best interpreted as evidence of cardiovascular and multimorbidity complexity, not as proof of a COVID-specific, temporal, or causal AF\u2013HF effect.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm15166470","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,21]],"date-time":"2026-08-21T09:31:59Z","timestamp":1787304719000},"page":"6470","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Atrial Fibrillation and Documented Heart Failure in Patients Hospitalized with COVID-19: A Secondary Analysis of a Single-Centre Cohort from Western Romania"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-6025-5998","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ana-Maria","family":"Pah","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Cardiology, \u201cVictor Babe\u0219\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Timi\u0219oara, Eftimie Murgu Square 2, 300041 Timi\u0219oara, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-7868-9266","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Cristiana Adina","family":"Avram","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Internal Medicine I, \u201cVictor Babe\u0219\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Timi\u0219oara, Eftimie Murgu Square 2, 300041 Timi\u0219oara, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Maria","family":"Rada","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Cardiology, \u201cVictor Babe\u0219\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Timi\u0219oara, Eftimie Murgu Square 2, 300041 Timi\u0219oara, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gheorghe","family":"Stoichescu-Hogea","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Cardiology, \u201cVictor Babe\u0219\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Timi\u0219oara, Eftimie Murgu Square 2, 300041 Timi\u0219oara, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1606-4319","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Adina","family":"Bucur","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Functional Sciences, Discipline of Public Health, Center for Translational Research and Systems Medicine, \u201cVictor Babe\u0219\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Timi\u0219oara, Eftimie Murgu Square 2, 300041 Timi\u0219oara, Romania"},{"name":"Centre for Translational Research and Systems Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, \u201cVictor Babe\u0219\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Timi\u0219oara, Eftimie Murgu Square 2, 300041 Timi\u0219oara, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dan Alexandru","family":"Surducan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Functional Sciences, Discipline of Public Health, Center for Translational Research and Systems Medicine, \u201cVictor Babe\u0219\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Timi\u0219oara, Eftimie Murgu Square 2, 300041 Timi\u0219oara, Romania"},{"name":"Centre for Translational Research and Systems Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, \u201cVictor Babe\u0219\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Timi\u0219oara, Eftimie Murgu Square 2, 300041 Timi\u0219oara, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Abdeldayem","family":"Mahmoud","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Family Medicine, \u201cVictor Babe\u0219\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Timi\u0219oara, Eftimie Murgu Square 2, 300041 Timi\u0219oara, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ovidiu Calin","family":"Ilie","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department I, Discipline of Dental Prostheses Technology (Dental Technology), Faculty of Dental Medicine, \u201cVictor Babe\u0219\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Timi\u0219oara, 300041 Timi\u0219oara, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Claudiu","family":"Avram","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department XVI\u2014Balneology, Medical Rehabilitation and Rheumatology, \u201cVictor Babe\u0219\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Timi\u0219oara, Eftimie Murgu Square 2, 300041 Timi\u0219oara, Romania"},{"name":"Transdisciplinary Research Center for Medical Rehabilitation, Balneology and Rheumatology (CTRMBR), \u201cVictor Babe\u0219\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Timi\u0219oara, Eftimie Murgu Square 2, 300041 Timi\u0219oara, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Emilia Elena","family":"Clej","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Doctoral School, Department of General Medicine, \u201cVictor Babe\u0219\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Timi\u0219oara, Eftimie Murgu Square 2, 300041 Timi\u0219oara, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Petra Alexandra","family":"Lazureanu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, \u201cVictor Babe\u0219\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Timi\u0219oara, Eftimie Murgu Square 2, 300041 Timi\u0219oara, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Maria-Laura","family":"Craciun","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Cardiology, \u201cVictor Babe\u0219\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Timi\u0219oara, Eftimie Murgu Square 2, 300041 Timi\u0219oara, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"543","DOI":"10.1038\/s41569-020-0413-9","article-title":"COVID-19 and cardiovascular disease: From basic mechanisms to clinical 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