Abstract

Background: Patients who had left atrial enlargement (LAE) with atrial fibrillation (AF) had an increased risk of LA dysfunction. However, there were  few reports about the relationship between apolipoprotein B (apo B) and LAE or the association between low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and LAE. We aimed to evaluated the above relationships in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF).

Methods: A total of 170 subjects were consecutively enrolled from December 2012 to July 2015. 87 subjects were retrospectively enrolled as control group. 83 patients were retrospectively included in NVAF group. Heart color Doppler ultrasound examination of all the study subjectswere diagnosed bymedical specialists. Routine biochemical indicators of hematology were tested in clinical laboratory.

Results: There were significant differences between the control and the NVAF group in terms of α-Hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase (α-HBDH), triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC) and LDL-C. In total NVAF patients, both the CHADS₂ (r = 0.578, P = 0.000) and CHA₂DS₂-VASc (r = 0.632, P = 0.000) scores were positively correlated with age. The CHADS₂ score was negatively correlated with apo B (r = -0.217, P = 0.049), and the CHA2DS₂-VASc score was negatively correlated with TG (r = -0.256, P = 0.019) and calcium ion (CA) (r = -0.285, P = 0.009). In Pearson correlation analysis, LA diameter was negatively correlated with LDL-C (r = -0.425, P = 0.001), apo B (r = -0.407, P = 0.001) and TC (r = -0.378, P = 0.002) in patients with total NVAF accompanied by LAE.  Multiple stepwise regression analysis revealed that LDL-C was an important factor influencing LA size in patients with NVAF.

Conclusion: In conclusion, apo B and LDL-C was associated with LAE in patients with NVAF, and LDL-C was an important factor influencing LA size in patients with NVAF.