摘要
Background Atrial fibrillation （AF） is associated with inflammation and endothelial dysfunction. However, the association between inflammation （as indexed by high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, hs-CRP） and endothelial function [as indexed by big endothelin-1 （ET-1）] in AF patients remains unclear. Methods We enrolled 128 patients with lone AF, among which 83 had paroxysmal AF, and 45 had persistent AF. Eighty-two age- and gender-matched controls of paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia without AF history were evaluated. Plasma hs-CRP, big ET-1 levels and other clinical characteristics were compared among the groups. Results Patients with persistent AF had higher hs-CRP concentrations than those with paroxysmal AF （P 〈 0.05）, both groups had higher hs-CRP level than controls （P 〈 0.05）. Patients with persistent AF had higher big ET-1 level than those with paroxysmal AF, although the difference did not reach the statistical significance （P 〉 0.05）, and both groups had higher big ET-1 levels than controls （P 〈 0.05）. Multiple regression analyses revealed hs-CRP as an inde- pendent determinant of AF （P 〈 0.001）. Further adjusted for big ET-1, both big ET-1 and hs-CRP were independent predictors for AF （P 〈 0.001）, but the odds ratio for hs-CRP in predicting AF attenuated from 8.043 to 3.241. There was a positive relation between hs-CRP level and big ET-1 level in paroxysmal AF patients （r = 0.563, P 〈 0.05）, however, the relationship in persistent AF patients was poor （r = 0.094, P 〈 0.05）. Conclusions Both plasma hs-CRP and big ET-1 levels are elevated in lone AF patients, and are associated with AF. In paroxysmal lone AF patients, there were significant positive correlations between plasma hs-CRP level and big ET- 1 level.
