Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of the study population, stratified according to diagnosis of atrial fibrillation
| Characteristics | No. (%) of patients | P-value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall (n = 5158) | With AF (n = 2091) | Without AF (n = 3067) | ||
| Female | 2416 (46.8) | 1025 (49.0) | 1391 (45.4) | 0.010 |
| Age, mean (SD), years | 68.4 (14.7) | 70.7 (12.6) | 66.8 (15.7) | < 0.001 |
| Age group, years | < 0.001 | |||
| < 40 | 271 (5.3) | 46 (2.2) | 225 (7.3) | |
| 40–49 | 341 (6.6) | 99 (4.7) | 242 (7.9) | |
| 50–59 | 638 (12.4) | 236 (11.3) | 402 (13.1) | |
| 60–69 | 1003 (19.4) | 399 (19.1) | 604 (19.7) | |
| 70–79 | 1744 (33.8) | 799 (38.2) | 945 (30.8) | |
| ≥ 80 | 1161 (22.5) | 512 (24.5) | 649 (21.2) | |
| Height, mean (SD), cm | 159.2 (17.0) | 158.7 (18.7) | 159.5 (15.8) | 0.104 |
| Weight, mean (SD), kg | 60.1 (13.7) | 60.0 (13.8) | 60.2 (13.7) | 0.536 |
| BMI, mean (SD), kg/m2 | 23.1 (4.4) | 23.1 (4.5) | 23.2 (4.4) | 0.759 |
| HF subtypes (n = 4968) | < 0.001 | |||
| HFpEF (EF ≥ 50%) | 1260 (25.4) | 656 (32.6) | 604 (20.4) | |
| HFmrEF(40% ≤ EF < 50%) | 799 (16.1) | 359 (17.9) | 440 (14.9) | |
| HFrEF (EF < 40%) | 2909 (58.6) | 995 (49.5) | 1914 (64.7) | |
| Comorbidity at baseline | ||||
| Hypertension | 3228 (62.6) | 1302 (62.3) | 1926 (62.8) | 0.699 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 2082 (40.4) | 719 (34.4) | 1363 (44.4) | < 0.001 |
| Previous stroke | 789 (15.3) | 410 (19.6) | 379 (12.4) | < 0.001 |
| Previous chronic renal failure | 732 (14.2) | 259 (12.4) | 473 (15.4) | 0.002 |
| IHD | 2237 (43.4) | 627 (30.0) | 1610 (52.5) | < 0.001 |
| VHD | 991 (19.2) | 608 (29.1) | 383 (12.5) | < 0.001 |
| Cardiomyopathy | 1409 (27.3) | 509 (24.3) | 900 (29.3) | < 0.001 |
| COPD | 562 (10.9) | 251 (12.0) | 311 (10.1) | 0.034 |
| Medications before discharge | ||||
| Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor | 1980 (38.4) | 714 (34.1) | 1266 (41.3) | < 0.001 |
| Angiotensin receptor blockers | 2372 (46.0) | 926 (44.3) | 1446 (47.1) | 0.043 |
| Βeta-blockers | 3012 (58.4) | 1182 (56.5) | 1830 (59.7) | 0.025 |
| Aldosterone antagonist | 2888 (56.0) | 1235 (59.1) | 1653 (53.9) | 0.001 |
| Loop diuretics | 4721 (91.5) | 1965 (94.0) | 2756 (89.9) | < 0.001 |
| Digoxin | 1708 (33.1) | 1141 (54.6) | 567 (18.5) | < 0.001 |
| Warfarin | 1669 (32.4) | 1268 (60.6) | 401 (13.1) | < 0.001 |
| Aspirin | 3362 (65.2) | 1194 (57.1) | 2168 (70.7) | < 0.001 |
| Statin | 2432 (47.2) | 779 (37.3) | 1653 (53.9) | < 0.001 |
| Smoking | < 0.001 | |||
| Current smoker | 951 (18.4) | 277 (13.2) | 674 (22.0) | |
| Ex-smoker | 1057 (20.5) | 444 (21.2) | 613 (20.0) | |
| Never smoker | 3150 (61.1) | 1370 (65.5) | 1780 (58.0) | |
| Alcohol intake | 0.288 | |||
| Heavy alcoholic | 356 (6.9) | 153 (7.3) | 203 (6.6) | |
| Social drinker | 1623 (31.5) | 635 (30.4) | 988 (32.2) | |
| Never drinker | 3179 (61.6) | 1303 (62.3) | 1876 (61.2) | |
Data are reported as n (%)
Abbreviations: AF atrial fibrillation, BMI body mass index, HF heart failure, EF ejection fraction, HFpEF heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, HFmrEF heart failure with mid-range ejection fraction, HFrEF heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, IHD ischemic heart disease, VHD valvular heart disease, COPD chronic obstructive pulmonary disease