Table 1.
Baseline patient characteristics for entire cohort. Mean time of follow-up 813.7 ± 537.6 days
| All (n = 556) | Patients who did not develop atrial flutter (n = 513) | Patients who developed atrial flutter (n = 43) | Patients who developed atrial flutter after blanking period (n = 25) | p value# | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 61.0 ± 10.6 | 61.0 ± 10.6 | 61.4 ± 10.7 | 58.8 ± 12.2 | 0.39, 0.22 |
| Male gender | (67.8) | (67.4) | (72.1) | (72.0) | 0.63 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 29.5 ± 6.2 | 29.4 ± 6.2 | 30.3 ± 6.6 | 30.3 ± 6.1 | 0.51,0.32 |
| Active tobacco use | (7.0) | (6.8) | (9.3) | (12.0) | 0.32 |
| Diabetes mellitus | (10.1) | (9.7) | (14.0) | (16.0) | 0.31 |
| Hypertension | (44.1) | (43.4) | (51.2) | (48.0) | 0.66 |
| Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | (1.8) | (1.9) | (0) | (0) | 0.48 |
| Obstructive sleep apnea | (15.3) | (15.0) | (18.6) | (24.0) | 0.22 |
| Ischemic cardiomyopathy | (15.5) | (14.6) | (18.6) | (20.0) | 0.46 |
| ACE inhibitor and/or ARB | (33.1) | (32.0) | (39.5) | (36.0) | 0.67 |
| Statin therapy | (41.9) | (40.7) | (44.2) | (40.0) | 0.94 |
| Beta-blocker | (56.6) | (55.9) | (58.1) | (60.0) | 0.54 |
| Calcium channel blocker | (18.8) | (17.7) | (23.2) | (16.0) | 0.82 |
| Number of failed anti-arrhythmic trials | 1.2 ± 0.8 | 1.2 ± 0.8 | 1.2 ± 0.8 | 1.2 ± 0.8 | 0.86, 0.50 |
| NYHA class | 1.1 ± 0.4 | 1.1 ± 0.4 | 1.3 ± 0.7 | 1.4 ± 0.6 | 0.030, 0.023 |
| Bundle branch block | (6.7) | (5.5) | (20.9) | (20.0) | 0.003 |
| Left ventricular ejection fraction (%) | 56.1 ± 9.8 | 56.3 ± 9.7 | 53.4 ± 10.9 | 52.1 ± 11.6 | 0.09, 0.19 |
| Serum creatinine | 0.99 ± 0.21 | 0.98 ± 0.21 | 1.02 ± 0.23 | 1.04 ± 0.28 | 0.30, 0.19 |
| Paroxysmal atrial fibrillation | (52.7) | (53.0) | (48.8) | (40.0) | 0.28 |
| Duration of known atrial fibrillation (months) | 54.3 ± 69.1 | 54.0 ± 68.2 | 57.5 ± 80.4 | 46.8 ± 60.0 | 0.57, 0.19 |
| History of RFA PVI | (10.8) | (10.5) | (14.0) | (16.0) | 0.39 |
| Left atrial diameter (mm) | 39.2 ± 6.7 | 39.0 ± 6.7 | 41.3 ± 6.2 | 42.1 ± 6.4 | 0.030, 0.004 |
Numbers in parentheses represent percentages
BMI body mass index, ACE angiotensin-converting enzyme, ARB angiotensin II receptor blocker, NYHA New York Heart Association, RFA radiofrequency ablation, PVl pulmonary vein isolation
p Values calculated between patients who developed atrial flutter after blanking period (n = 25) and those that did not develop atrial flutter (n = 513). P values for continuous variables were calculated using two-sided t test with unknown variance, as well as by Mann–Whitney test for non-normally distributed variables; the values listed first represent t test findings. p Values for categorical variables were calculated by chi-squared testing. Statistical significance defined as p < 0.05