Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of the subset of AFFRIM patients 70 to 80 years with atrial fibrillation randomized to rate-control versus rhythm-control strategies, before and after propensity score matching
| Before propensity-matching (n=2248) | After propensity-matching(n=1874) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
||||||
| Variables mean ± SD or n (%) |
Rate- control strategy (n=1118) |
Rhythm- control strategy (n=1130) |
P value |
Rate- control strategy (n=937) |
Rhythm- control strategy (n=937) |
P value |
| Age (years) | 75 ±3 | 75 ±3 | 0.568 | 75 ±3 | 75 ±3 | 0.891 |
| Female | 524 (47) | 497 (44) | 0.169 | 421 (45) | 425 (45) | 0.892 |
| Non-whites | 89 (8) | 77 (7) | 0.299 | 71 (8) | 64 (7) | 0.589 |
| History of smoking | 80 (7) | 72 (6) | 0.459 | 64 (7) | 61 (7) | 0.852 |
| Past medical history | ||||||
| Hypertension | 764 (68) | 779 (69) | 0.758 | 645 (69) | 639 (68) | 0.804 |
| Coronary artery disease | 404 (36) | 491 (44) | <0.001 | 378 (40) | 374 (40) | 0.879 |
| Heart failure | 259 (23) | 270 (24) | 0.684 | 219 (23) | 214 (23) | 0.825 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 197 (18) | 190 (17) | 0.613 | 162 (17) | 163 (17) | 1.000 |
| Cerebrovascular events | 160 (14) | 167 (15) | 0.753 | 134 (14) | 135 (14) | 1.000 |
| Valvular heart disease | 170 (15) | 166 (15) | 0.732 | 140 (15) | 140 (15) | 1.000 |
| Symptomatic bradycardia | 96 (9) | 104 (9) | 0.608 | 82 (9) | 85 (9) | 0.869 |
| Peripheral vascular disease | 87 (8) | 92 (8) | 0.753 | 77 (8) | 75 (8) | 0.933 |
| Cardioversion | 392 (35) | 535 (47) | <0.001 | 385 (41) | 381 (41) | 0.848 |
| Coronary artery bypass graft | 145 (13) | 174 (15) | 0.099 | 138 (15) | 141 (15) | 0.897 |
| Pacemaker implantation | 87 (8) | 98 (9) | 0.442 | 79 (8) | 74 (8) | 0.736 |
| Hospitalization for arrhythmia | 502 (45) | 566 (50) | 0.014 | 440 (47) | 444 (47) | 0.885 |
| Duration of hospitalization for arrhythmia |
2.4 ±3.7 | 2.7 ±3.7 | 0.052 | 2.5 ±3.8 | 2.5 ±3.6 | 0.901 |
| Symptoms during atrial fibrillation in the last 6 months | ||||||
| Fatigue | 622 (56) | 647 (57) | 0.438 | 542 (58) | 535 (57) | 0.778 |
| Dyspnea | 610 (55) | 593 (53) | 0.322 | 502 (54) | 506 (54) | 0.893 |
| Palpitation | 524 (47) | 523 (46) | 0.781 | 433 (46) | 427 (46) | 0.816 |
| Dizziness | 381 (34) | 397 (35) | 0.599 | 325 (35) | 325 (35) | 1.000 |
| Chest pain | 255 (23) | 253 (22) | 0.812 | 204 (22) | 209 (22) | 0.823 |
| Diaphoresis | 188 (17) | 200 (18) | 0.579 | 162 (17) | 158 (17) | 0.851 |
| Leg swelling | 234 (21) | 241 (21) | 0.818 | 206 (22) | 191 (20) | 0.427 |
| Orthopnea | 157 (14) | 170 (15) | 0.501 | 139 (15) | 140 (15) | 1.000 |
| Paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea | 72 (6) | 80 (7) | 0.546 | 63 (7) | 62 (7) | 1.000 |
| Panic | 102 (9) | 114 (10) | 0.438 | 90 (10) | 85 (9) | 0.751 |
| Syncope | 46 (4) | 50 (4) | 0.716 | 40 (4) | 44 (5) | 0.728 |
| Other symptoms | 117 (11) | 108 (10) | 0.473 | 95 (10) | 95 (10) | 1.000 |
| Medications used within 6 months prior to randomization | ||||||
| Warfarin | 932 (83) | 969 (86) | 0.117 | 796 (85) | 800 (85) | 0.842 |
| Digoxin | 604 (54) | 598 (53) | 0.600 | 495 (53) | 499 (53) | 0.891 |
| Beta-blocker | 452 (40) | 478 (42) | 0.368 | 380 (41) | 389 (42) | 0.709 |
| Diuretics | 502 (45) | 519 (46) | 0.625 | 430 (46) | 417 (45) | 0.584 |
| Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor |
415 (37) | 414 (37) | 0.813 | 346 (37) | 345 (37) | 1.000 |
| Diltiazem | 354 (32) | 328 (29) | 0.174 | 279 (30) | 279 (30) | 1.000 |
| Verapamil | 122 (11) | 101 (9) | 0.117 | 100 (11) | 92 (10) | 0.582 |
| Aspirin | 299 (27) | 294 (26) | 0.696 | 255 (27) | 246 (26) | 0.675 |
| Lipid lowering agents | 216 (19) | 234 (21) | 0.411 | 190 (20) | 193 (21) | 0.910 |
| Nitrate | 208 (19) | 250 (22) | 0.038 | 189 (20) | 192 (21) | 0.907 |
| Heparin | 195 (17) | 196 (17) | 0.952 | 164 (18) | 162 (17) | 0.950 |
| Anti-arrhythmic drug failure | 181 (16) | 177 (16) | 0.733 | 147 (16) | 157 (17) | 0.587 |
| Ventricular heart rate (beats per minute) | 74 ±14 | 72 ±14 | 0.001 | 73 ±14 | 73 ±14 | 0.585 |
| Systolic BP (mmHg) | 136 ±19 | 135 ±20 | 0.304 | 136 ±19 | 136 ±19 | 0.817 |
| Diastolic BP (mmHg) | 75 ±10 | 75 ±10 | 0.479 | 75 ±10 | 75 ±10 | 0.968 |
| International normalization ratio* | 2.3 ±0.7 | 2.3 ±0.7 | 0.484 | 2.3 ±0.7 | 2.3 ±0.7 | 0.461 |
*
based on available data from 1877 and 1578 pre- and post-match patients, respectively