Table 1.
Baseline Characteristics (N=13,840)
| Characteristic | APCs
|
P-value* | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yes (n=950) | No (n=12,890) | ||
| Age, mean ± SD (years) | 67 ± 8.9 | 63 ± 8.4 | <0.001 |
| Men | 479 (50%) | 5,585 (43%) | <0.001 |
| Black | 387 (41%) | 4,736 (37%) | 0.014 |
| Region | |||
| Stroke belt | 295 (31%) | 4,375 (34%) | |
| Stroke buckle | 215 (23%) | 2,753 (21%) | |
| Non-belt | 440 (46%) | 5,762 (45%) | 0.19 |
| Education (high school or less) | 332 (35%) | 4,031 (31%) | 0.019 |
| Ever smoker | 495 (52%) | 6,528 (51%) | 0.38 |
| Income (<$20,000) | 131 (14%) | 1,615 (13%) | 0.26 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 183 (19%) | 2,102 (16%) | 0.018 |
| Systolic blood pressure, mean ± SD (mm Hg) | 128 ± 16 | 126 ± 16 | <0.001 |
| Body mass index, mean ± SD (kg/m2) | 29 ± 6.3 | 29 ± 5.9 | 0.92 |
| Total cholesterol, mean ± SD (mg/dL) | 189 ± 38 | 193 ± 39 | 0.0010 |
| HDL cholesterol, mean ± SD (mg/dL) | 52 ± 16 | 53 ±16 | 0.37 |
| Aspirin | 434 (46%) | 5,345 (41%) | 0.011 |
| Antihypertensive medications | 494 (52%) | 5,961 (46%) | <0.001 |
| Left ventricular hypertrophy | 99 (10%) | 1,039 (8%) | 0.011 |
| Cardiovascular disease | 165 (17%) | 1,891 (15%) | 0.024 |
*
Statistical significance for categorical variables tested using the chi-square method and for continuous variables the student’s t-test was used.
APC=atrial premature complex; HDL=high-density lipoprotein; SD=standard deviation.