| AF | atrial fibrillation |
| DGCR8: | DiGeorge syndrome critical region 8 |
| ECG: | electrocardiography |
| HR | hazard ratio |
| mRNA | messenger RNA |
| miRNAs | microRNAs; |
| OR | odds ratio |
| pre-miRs | precursor miRs |
| pri-miRs | primary miRs |
| qRT-PCR | reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction |
| TGF-β | transforming growth factor-beta |