Abstract
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained cardiac arrhythmia in clinical practice. The patogenesis of AF is linked to an inflammatory reaction and oxidative stress that leads to fibrosis of the atria and progression of the disease. However, the role of different biomarkers in patients with AF is poorly defined. The purpose of this study is to define the role of several biomarkers of inflammation, oxidative stress and fibrosis (myeloperoxidase (MPO), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), galectin-3 (Gal-3), oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL)) in patients with AF.
We included 75 patients with paroxysmal/persistent AF, who were admitted for electrical cardioversion or pulmonary vein isolation. MPO, hsCRP, Gal-3 and oxLDL were measured before the procedures. We compared the results with 75 healthy age-, sex- and blood pressure-matched individuals.
Patients with AF had higher MPO (77.1 vs 41.7 ng/ml, p<0.001) compared the healthy subjects. There was also significantly higher hsCRP (3.7 vs 1.6 mg/L, p<0.001) and Gal-3 (12.3 vs 10.4 mg/L, p=0.003). No difference in oxLDL levels (78.8 vs 75.3 U/L, p=0.414) were seen (Table 1). MPO (β=0.012, p=0.014), hsCRP (β=0.213, p=0.046), and weight (β=0.037, p=0.006), were independently associated with AF in a logistic regression analysis (Table 2).
Patients with AF have increased markers of inflammation and fibrosis, whereas no increase in oxidative stress markers was detected. MPO, hsCRP and age weight were independently predictive of AF. These findings support the role of inflammatory and fibrotic mechanisms as important factors in the electrical and structural remodelling progress in the atria of patients with AF.
