The impact of acute atrial fibrillation on the prothrombotic state in patients with essential hypertension

• Published in: Clinical biochemistry Vol. 43; no. 15; pp. 1212 - 1215
• Main Authors: Hou, Jianping, Liang, Yonggang, Gai, Xiaobo, Zhang, Hueimin, Yang, Xiangyue, Lan, Xiaopeng, Zheng, Weixing, Huang, Mingfang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier Inc 01.10.2010; Elsevier
• Subjects: Acute Disease; Aged; Arterial hypertension. Arterial hypotension; Atrial fibrillation; Atrial Fibrillation - blood; Atrial Fibrillation - complications; Biological and medical sciences; Blood and lymphatic vessels; Cardiac dysrhythmias; Cardiology. Vascular system; Case-Control Studies; D-dimer; Electric Countershock; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Heart; Humans; Hypertension; Hypertension - blood; Hypertension - complications; Male; Medical sciences; P-selectin; Thrombosis - blood; Thrombosis - complications; von Willebrand factor; Hypertension; D-dimer; Atrial fibrillation; von Willebrand factor; P-selectin; Human; Arrhythmia; Acute; Cell adhesion molecule; Cardiovascular disease; D dimer; Essential; Excitability disorder; prothrombotic state; P Selectin; Heart disease; Willebrand factor
• ISSN: 0009-9120; 1873-2933
• DOI: 10.1016/j.clinbiochem.2010.07.013

To investigate whether acute atrial fibrillation (AF) creates a prothrombotic state in hypertensive patients, and to assess the evolution in research indices after cardioversion. Plasma levels of von Willebrand factor (vWf), soluble P-selectin and fibrin D-dimers were measured in hypertensive patients with acute AF pre-cardioversion and at 1, 7, 14, and 30 days post-cardioversion. The results were compared with hypertensive controls and healthy controls. Pre-cardioversion plasma vWf levels in acute AF patients were similar to those of controls; however, post-cardioversion, the vWf levels increased significantly and only returned to baseline levels 14 days later. Compared with controls, acute AF patients had higher levels of fibrin D-dimers, which lasted at least 14 days after cardioversion. This study demonstrated that hypertensive patients with acute AF have an abnormal prothrombotic state, which persists for up to 14 days after cardioversion.