Table 1.
Characteristics of the groups.
| ALL PATIENTS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| PARAMETER | Group with AF n = 25 | Group without AF n = 44 | p |
| Age | 57 ± 10.26 | 59 ± 13 | ns |
| -female -male |
3 22 |
7 37 |
0.04 |
| diabetes mellitus | 7 (28%) | 9 (20%) | ns |
| cigarette smoking | 4 (16%) | 4 (9%) | ns |
| BMI | 28 ± 4 | 25 ± 3 | ns |
| NYHA class median | 2 | 3 | ns |
| Heart failure assessment | |||
| dyspnoea (1)* | 13 (52%) | 18 (43%) | ns |
| oedema (1) | 6 (25%) | 4 (9%) | ns |
| pulmonary hemostasis1 | 5 (21%) | 3 (7%) | ns |
| 6-MWT (1) | 405 ± 71 | 381.9 ± 96 | ns |
| 6-MWT (2)* | 434 ± 109 | 419.1 ± 114 | ns |
| HR mean | 78 | 77 | ns |
| Pharmacological treatment | |||
| atorvastatin | 17 (68%) | 27 (61%) | ns |
| carvedilol | 23 (92%) | 38 (86%) | ns |
| ACE-I | 23 (92%) | 42 (95%) | ns |
| ARB | 2 (8%) | 3 (7%) | ns |
| spironolactone/eplerenone | 22 (88%) | 40 (93%) | ns |
| diuretics | 22 (88%) | 42 (95%) | ns |
| aspirin | 9 (36%) | 20 (45%) | ns |
| digoxin | 14 (56%) | 4 (9%) | 0.001 |
| warfarin | 24 (96%) | 3 (6.8%) | 0.001 |
| insulin | 1 (4%) | 3 (7%) | ns |
| oral hypoglycaemics | 3 (12%) | 4 (9%) | ns |
| Echocardiographic characteristics | |||
| LA enlargement [cm] | 22 (88%) | 37 (84%) | ns |
| LVEDD [cm] | 7.3 ± 0.9 | 7.0 ± 0.8 | ns |
| LVESD [cm] | 6 ± 2 | 5.7 ± 1 | ns |
| diastolic dysfunction | 2 (8%) | 6 (13.6%) | ns |
| LVEDV[cm] | 240.24 ± 99 | 200.55 ± 57 | ns |
| LVESV [cm] | 175.11 ± 86 | 147.33 ± 56.58 | ns |
| EF (%) | 30% | 29% | ns |
| mitral incompetence I II III |
11 (44%) 5 (20%) 3 (12%) |
15 (34%) 16 (36%) 10 (24%) |
ns |
| pulmonary hypertension | 7 (28%) | 13 (30%) | ns |
| Biochemical parameters | |||
| TNF-α (1) [pg/ml] | 20.2 ± 28 | 16.5 ± 17 | ns |
| IL-6 (1) [pg/ml] | 20.6 ± 20 | 13.8 ± 10 | ns |
| IL-10 (1) [pg/ml] | 14.2 ± 12 | 24.9 ± 41 | ns |
| NT-proBNP (1) [pg/ml] | 2669.4 ± 2192 | 1540.7 ± 1513 | 0.02 |
* (1) variables assessed after inclusion, (2) variables assessed after 2 months
ABBREVIATIONS: BMI - body mass index; HR - heart rate; AF - atrial fibrillation; NYHA - New York Heart Association; 6-MWT - 6-minute walk test, ACE-I - angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor; ARB - angiotensin II receptor antagonist; LA - left atrium; LVEDD - left ventricular end-diastolic diameter; LVEF - left ventricular ejection fraction; LVESD - left ventricular end-systolic diameter; LVEDV - left ventricular end-diastolic volume; LVESV - left ventricular end-systolic volume, TNF-a - tumour necrosis factor-alpha; IL - interleukin; NT-proBNP - N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide.