Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of lone AF patients and healthy controls.
| Baseline characteristics | AF patients n = 50 |
SR controls n = 44 |
P value |
|
| |||
| Age (years) | 48.6 ± 11.5 (range: 27–65 years) | 49.7 ± 9.3 (range: 30–66 years) | 0.599 |
| Sex (male) | 37 (74.0) | 32 (72.7) | 0.115 |
| Paroxysmal AF | 34 (68.0) | — | — |
| Newly diagnosed AF | 25 (50.0) | — | — |
| Time since AF diagnosis (months) | 36.0 (12.0–108.0) | — | — |
| Current smokers | 9 (18) | 10 (22.7) | 0.614 |
| Moderate alcohol intake | 11 (22.0) | 9 (20.4) | 0.344 |
| Systolic BP (mmHg) | 120.8 ± 10.0 | 118.5 ± 9.8 | 0.257 |
| Diastolic BP (mmHg) | 75.8 ± 5.5 | 75.0 ± 7.8 | 0.593 |
| Heart rate (beats per minute) | 64.5 ± 14.3 | 70.7 ± 7.4 | 0.106 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 25.6 ± 3.5 | 23.8 ± 2.22 | 0.011 |
| Biochemical parameters | |||
| Fasting blood glucose (mmol/L) | 4.8 ± 0.5 | 4.6 ± 0.5 | 0.178 |
| Blood urea nitrogen (mmol/L) | 5.8 ± 1.2 | 5.8 ± 1.2 | 0.788 |
| Serum creatinine (µmol/L) | 82.8 ± 15.5 | 87.4 ± 12.1 | 0.117 |
| Uric acid (mmol/L) | 292.9 ± 67.2 | 306.7 ± 58.3 | 0.244 |
| Total cholesterol (mmol/L) | 5.7 ± 1.1 | 5.7 ± 0.8 | 0.926 |
| HDL-C (mmol/L) | 1.1 ± 0.2 | 1.1 ± 0.3 | 0.293 |
| LDL-C (mmol/L) | 3.8 ± 0.8 | 3.9 ± 1.0 | 0.559 |
| Triglycerides (mmol/L) | 1.7 ± 0.7 | 1.8 ± 0.6 | 0.389 |
| BNP (pg/mL) | 68 (51–132) | 59 (45–124) | 0.788 |
| Fibrinogen (g/L) | 3.3 ± 0.6 | 3.0 ± 0.8 | 0.018 |
| D-dimer (mg/L) | 0.244 (0.193–0.313) | 0.235 (0.171–0.298) | 0.634 |
| Plasma biomarkers | |||
| CRP (mg/L) | 1.2 (0.7–1.9) | 1.1 (0.7–1.6) | 0.030 |
| oxLDL (U/L) | 66.3 ± 21.2 | 57.1 ± 14.6 | 0.017 |
| Echocardiographic parameters | |||
| LA anteroposterior diameter (mm) | 39.1 ± 6.2 | 37.2 ± 5.7 | 0.114 |
| LA volume index (mL/m2) | 25.7 ± 6.8 | 24.2 ± 4.8 | 0.234 |
| LV end-diastolic dimension (mm) | 51.3 ± 4.2 | 50.8 ± 3.2 | 0.766 |
| LV end-systolic dimension (mm) | 33.0 ± 3.5 | 31.3 ± 2.9 | 0.311 |
| LV mass index (g/m2) | 73.6 ± 13.1 | 72.8 ± 14.1 | 0.421 |
| LVEF (%) | 63.6 ± 4.9 | 64.1 ± 4.7 | 0.544 |
| Medical therapy | |||
| Beta-blockers | 15 (30.0) | — | — |
| Non-dihydropyridine Ca2+ channel antagonists | 3 (6.0) | — | — |
| Digoxin | 2 (4.0) | — | — |
| Propafenone | 20 (40.0) | — | — |
| Sotalol | 5 (10.0) | — | — |
| Amiodarone | 18 (36.0) | — | — |
Data are presented as n (%), mean ± standard deviation, or median with interquartile range; AF: atrial fibrillation; BP: blood pressure; BMI: body mass index; HDL-C: high density lipoprotein cholesterol; LDL-C: low density lipoprotein cholesterol; BNP: B-type natriuretic peptide; CRP: C-reactive protein; oxLDL: oxidized low density lipoprotein; LA: left atrial; LV: left ventricular; LVEF: left ventricular ejection fraction.