Competitive interaction between chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and CHA2DS2-VASc score in predicting incident atrial fibrillation

COPD is an independent and strong predictor of incident AF. The presence of COPD increases the HR for incident AF about five times in patients with CHA2DS2VASc score < 2, while the coexistence of a CHA2DS2Vasc score ≥ 2 minimizes the prognostic significance of COPD.