Table I.
Baseline characteristics of the study population
| Clinical characteristics (Total n = 163) |
Control (n = 71) |
Paroxysmal AF (n = 61) |
P-value | Persistent AF (n = 31) |
P-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male, n (%) | 28 (39.4) | 35 (57.4) | 0.040 | 15 (48.4) | 0.120 |
| Age [years] | 62.24 ±0.88 | 62.41 ±1.34 | 0.909 | 64.00 ±1.21 | 0.614 |
| SBP [mm Hg] | 128 ±2 | 128 ±2 | 0.835 | 126 ±3 | 0.882 |
| DBP [mm Hg] | 75 ±1 | 77 ±1 | 0.229 | 73 ±2 | 0.202 |
| HR [bpm] | 79 ±1 | 79 ±2 | 0.958 | 86 ±2 | 0.023 |
| BMI [kg/m2] | 23.43 ±0.34 | 24.95 ±0.49 | 0.023 | 23.98 ±1.16 | 0.074 |
| Smoker, n (%) | 17 (23.9) | 25 (40.9) | 0.036 | 8 (25.8) | 0.086 |
| Hypertension, n (%) | 1 (1.4) | 9 (14.8) | 0.004 | 9 (29.0) | < 0.001 |
| Diabetes mellitus, n (%) | 1 (1.4) | 2 (3.3) | 0.472 | 0 (0) | 0.508 |
| Hyperlipidaemia, n (%) | 2 (2.8) | 3 (4.9) | 0.528 | 0 (0) | 0.428 |
| Statin therapy, n (%) | 2 (2.8) | 10 (16.4) | 0.007 | 8 (25.8) | 0.081 |
| Amiodarone therapy, n (%) | 0 (0) | 11 (18.0) | < 0.001 | 0 (0) | < 0.001 |
| Propafenone therapy, n (%) | 0 (0) | 11 (18.0) | < 0.001 | 0 (0) | < 0.001 |
| β-Blocker therapy, n (%) | 0 (0) | 21 (34.4) | < 0.001 | 13 (41.9) | < 0.001 |
| PR [ms] | 160.92 ±2.60 | 164.70 ±4.98 | 0.461 | – | – |
| QT [ms] | 399.08 ±3.80 | 399.08 ±6.75 | 1.000 | 371.16 ±5.91 | 0.004 |
| QT-C [ms] | 420.10 ±6.73 | 432.00 ±3.96 | 0.118 | 436.10 ±4.57 | 0.143 |
| CRP [mg/l] | 3.3 (3.3, 3.3) | 3.3 (3.3, 3.3) | 0.160 | 3.3 (3.3, 3.3) | 0.306 |
| WBC [× 109/l] | 5.62 ±0.18 | 6.14 ±0.22 | 0.055 | 5.60 ±0.19 | 0.111 |
| PLT [× 109/l] | 218.13 ±7.17 | 201.30 ±8.02 | 0.116 | 187.50 ±10.73 | 0.055 |
| Glucose [mmol/l] | 4.99 ±0.07 | 5.00 ±0.11 | 0.966 | 5.40 ±0.23 | 0.071 |
| TC [mmol/l] | 4.82 ±0.19 | 4.39 ±0.11 | 0.051 | 4.19 ±0.15 | 0.038 |
| TG [mmol/l] | 1.41 ±0.09 | 1.56 ±0.16 | 0.374 | 1.31 ±0.09 | 0.480 |
| LDL-C [mmol/l] | 2.86 ±0.09 | 2.65 ±0.08 | 0.108 | 2.58 ±0.13 | 0.132 |
| ALT [U/l] | 14.98 ±0.69 | 20.17 ±1.91 | 0.021 | 23.14 ±3.35 | 0.007 |
| AST [U/l] | 18.94 ±0.63 | 22.02 ±1.97 | 0.148 | 26.12 ±2.79 | 0.024 |
| BUN [mmol/l] | 5.38 ±0.15 | 5.87 ±0.18 | 0.039 | 5.99 ±0.25 | 0.045 |
| Cr [µmol/l] | 65.97 ±1.52 | 73.49 ±2.35 | 0.005 | 68.29 ±2.41 | 0.019 |
| UA [µmol/l] | 352.60 ±58.73 | 334.56 ±12.49 | 0.756 | 373.59 ±17.33 | 0.144 |
| NT-proBNP [pg/ml] | 54.1 (32.5, 89.9) | 205.4 (66.9, 582.5) | < 0.001 | 800.2 (464.5, 1212.0) | < 0.001 |
| C-TNI [ng/ml] | 0.005 (0.004, 0.007) | 0.007 (0.004, 0.011) | 0.038 | 0.008 (0.006, 0.013) | 0.003 |
| FT3 [pmol/l] | 4.48 (4.22, 4.78) | 4.73 (4.07, 5.03) | 0.186 | 4.81 (4.49, 5.16) | 0.098 |
| FT4 [pmol/l] | 13.76 (12.54, 15.11) | 15.29 (14.05, 17.06) | 0.444 | 14.93 (13.39, 16.43) | 0.336 |
| TSH [mIU/l] | 1.91 (1.44, 3.44) | 2.11 (1.41, 3.02) | 0.721 | 2.11 (1.40, 4.50) | 0.650 |
| CHADS2 | 0.00 (0.00, 0.00) | 0.00 (0.00, 0.00) | < 0.001 | 1.00 (0.00, 2.00) | < 0.001 |
| CHA2DS2-VASc | 1.00 (1.00, 1.00) | 1.10 (0.00, 1.00) | 0.406 | 2.00 (1.00, 3.00) | 0.003 |
| MFAP4 [ng/ml] | 1.71 ±0.06 | 1.97 ±0.09 | 0.021 | 2.09 ±0.14 | 0.009 |
| LAD [mm] | 35.74 ±0.57 | 40.46 ±0.77 | < 0.001 | 47.20 ±1.11 | < 0.001 |
| LVDd [mm] | 43.79 ±0.53 | 45.07 ±0.75 | 0.155 | 47.03 ±0.91 | 0.014 |
| LVEF (%) | 66.00 ±0.59 | 63.63 ±0.83 | 0.022 | 60.59 ±1.20 | < 0.001 |
SBP – systolic blood pressure, DBP – diastolic blood pressure, HR – heart rate, BMI – body mass index, TC – total cholesterol, TG – triglyceride, LDL-C – low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, CRP – C-reactive protein, WBC – white blood cell count, PLT – platelet, ALT – alanine aminotransferase, AST – aspartate aminotransferase, BUN – blood urea nitrogen, Cr – serum creatinine concentrations, UA – uric acid, NT-proBNP – N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide, C-TNI – cardiac troponin, FT3 – free triiodothyronine, FT4 – free thyroxine, TSH – thyroid stimulating hormone, MFAP4 – microfibrillar-associated protein 4, LAD – left atrial diameter, LVDd – left ventricular end-diastolic dimension, LVEF – left ventricular ejection fraction. Data are presented as median (interquartile range) or mean value ± SE. The p-value in column 4 refers to the comparison between the control and paroxysmal AF groups. The p-value in column 6 refers to the overall comparison between the control, paroxysmal, and persistent AF groups.