Table 1.
Patient characteristics (* pro-BNP was not measured routinely; abbreviations see text)
| Contrast-enhanced TEE | Control group | p value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| n | 90 | 90 |  | 
| Age | 65.9±12 | 64.5±13 | 0.474 | 
| female, % | 32.2 | 24.4 | 0.247 | 
| BMI, kg/m2 | 27.9±5.0 | 26.2±4.1 | 0.111 | 
| history of TIA/Stroke, % | 4.8 | 2.7 | 0.522 | 
| COPD ≥ °II, % | 4.8 | 8.2 | 0.433 | 
| diabetes mellitus, % | 21.3 | 13.7 | 0.244 | 
| hypertension, % | 58.7 | 60.3 | 0.855 | 
| CAD, % | 27.7 | 28 | 0.968 | 
| previous.MI, % | 4.8 | 6.8 | 0.606 | 
| hyperlipoproteinemia, % | 20.6 | 20.3 | 0.958 | 
| heart rate 1/min | 91.7±26 | 92.8±24 | 0.803 | 
| antiocoagulation ≥1 day (prior to TEE, %) | 51 | 48 | 0.764 | 
| antiocoagulation ≥3w (prior to TEE, %) | 13 | 11 | 0.544 | 
| hemoglobinn (g/dl) | 14.2±1.7 | 14.3±1.7 | 0.834 | 
| pro-BNP (pg/ml) * | 1817±1700* | * | * | 
| creatinine (mg/dl) | 1.1±0.49 | 1.1±0.28 | 0.728 | 
| potassium (mmol/l) | 4.2±0.43 | 4.2±0.43 | 0.928 | 
| C-reactive protein (mg/dl) | 1.1±2.1 | 1.5±2.9 | 0.377 |