Table 1.
Characteristics of Patients at Baseline
| Characteristics |
Early rhythm control (n=178) |
Usual care (n=95) |
P value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age, y | 68.9±8.9 | 70.1±7.8 | 0.270 |
| Men, n (%) | 108 (60.7) | 61 (64.2) | 0.567 |
| Paroxysmal AF, n (%) | 94 (52.8) | 48 (50.5) | 0.719 |
| Weight, kg | 65.3±10.1 | 66.0±9.9 | 0.548 |
| Height, cm | 163.7±8.5 | 165.1±8.5 | 0.186 |
| Body mass index, kg/m2 | 24.3±3.1 | 24.2±2.9 | 0.686 |
| Thrombolysis, n (%) | 60 (33.7) | 28 (29.5) | 0.476 |
| Echocardiography | |||
| LA volume index, mL/m2 | 44.0 (35.2–53.4) | 41.9 (33.0–59.9) | 0.718 |
| LAAP dimension, mm | 43.8 (23–75) | 42.0 (25–66) | 0.766 |
| Ejection fraction, % | 63.0 (58.0–67.0) | 62.0 (58.0–68.0) | 0.896 |
| E/E’ | 12.2 (9.0–14.9) | 12.1 (9.3–14.7) | 0.960 |
| CHA2DS2VASc score | 4.4±1.5 | 4.3±1.6 | 0.564 |
| Heart failure, n (%) | 11 (6.2) | 9 (9.6) | 0.308 |
| Hypertension, n (%) | 115 (65.0) | 70 (74.5) | 0.110 |
| Diabetes, n (%) | 59 (33.1) | 29 (30.9) | 0.700 |
| Vascular diseases, n (%) | 11 (6.2) | 6 (6.4) | 0.948 |
| Laboratory findings | |||
| Creatinine, mg/dL | 0.9 (0.7–1.0) | 0.9 (0.8–1.1) | 0.172 |
| eGFR, mL/min per 1.73 m2 | 76.7±19.8 | 75.2±18.9 | 0.555 |
| Low‐density lipoprotein, mg/dL | 95.3±32.6 | 102.7±36.0 | 0.089 |
| Glycated hemoglobin, % | 5.9 (5.6–6.4) | 5.9 (5.6–6.5) | 0.632 |
| Antithrombotic agents after a stroke, n (%) | |||
| Warfarin | 8 (4.5) | 4 (4.3) | >0.999 |
| NOAC | 158 (89.3) | 85 (89.5) | 0.958 |
| Single antiplatelet agent | 8 (4.5) | 6 (6.4) | 0.568 |
| Dual antiplatelet agent | 7 (4.0) | 4 (4.3) | >0.999 |
| Dual therapy (warfarin‐based) | 2 (1.1) | 0 | 0.545 |
| Dual therapy (NOAC‐based) | 44 (24.9) | 24 (25.5) | 0.903 |
| Triple therapy (warfarin‐based) | 0 | 0 | NA |
| NIH stroke score (initial) | 4.0 (2.0–11.0) | 6.0 (2.0–13.0) | 0.138 |
| mRS (3 mo), n (%) | |||
| Good outcome (0–2) | 109 (71.7) | 47 (60.3) | 0.078 |
| Poor outcome (3–6) | 43 (28.3) | 31 (39.7) | |
| mRS (12 mo), n (%) | |||
| Good outcome (0–2) | 111 (79.3) | 44 (66.7) | 0.05 |
| Poor outcome (3–6) | 29 (20.7) | 22 (33.3) | |
AF indicates atrial fibrillation; CHA2DS2VASc, congestive heart failure, hypertension, age ≥75 years (2 points), type 1 or 2 diabetes, stroke or transient ischemic attack or thromboembolism (2 points), vascular disease (prior myocardial infarction, peripheral artery disease, or aortic plaque), aged 65–75 years, sex category (female); eGFR, estimated glomerular filtration rate; LA, left atrium; LAAP, left atrial anterior‐posterior; mRS, modified Rankin scale; NA, not applicable; NIH, National Institutes of Health; and NOAC, nonvitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant.