Patient and control characteristics
| Characteristic | Patients (n=32) | Controls (n=10) |
| Demographics | ||
| Age (years) | 67±10 | 60±8 |
| Gender: female/male | 31/1 | 10/0 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 27.8±6.0 | 26.2±3.7 |
| Patient condition | ||
| Hypertension | 16 (50) | 4 (40) |
| Diabetes mellitus | 6 (19) | 2 (20) |
| Hypercholesterolaemia | 16 (50) | 3 (30) |
| Coronary artery disease | 4 (13) | 0 (0) |
| Current cigarette smoking | 4 (13) | 0 (0) |
| Heart rate (beats/min) | 71±17 | 70±9 |
| Blood chemistry | ||
| Creatine kinase (IU/l) | 200 (124–290) | NA |
| Cardiac troponin T (mg/dl) | 0.35 (0.22–0.58) | NA |
| Plasma NT-proBNP (pg/ml) | 5390 (2440–10340) | NA |
Unless otherwise indicated, values are mean±SD, number (%) or median (IQR).BMI, body mass index; NA, not applicable; NT-proBNP, N-terminal prohormone of B-type natriuretic peptide.