Differential (comparative) characteristics of AF patients treated appropriately/inappropriately with triple therapy of OAC and AP—Part I
| Triple therapy appropriately used* | Triple therapy inappropriately used† | p Value | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (n=38) | (n=67) | ||||
| mean±SD | mean±SD | ||||
| Age, mean | 74.4±8.91 | 72.7±7.80 | 0.3124 | ||
| Body Mass Index (BMI), mean | 28.5±4.71 | 27.9±4.00 | 0.4761 | ||
| n | % | n | % | ||
| Gender, male | 28 | 73.7 | 52 | 77.6 | 0.6498 |
| Pattern of AF | n | % | n | % | |
| Paroxysmal | 12 | 31.6 | 14 | 20.9 | 0.3473‡ |
| Persistent (short-term) | 13 | 34.2 | 18 | 26.9 | |
| Long-standing persistent | 2 | 5.3 | 6 | 9.0 | |
| Overall persistent (combining the two above) | 15 | 39.5 | 24 | 35.9 | |
| Permanent | 11 | 28.9 | 29 | 43.3 | |
| Risk factors and comorbidities | n | % | n | % | |
| Arterial hypertension | 26 | 68.4 | 54 | 80.6 | 0.1592 |
| Diabetes | 13 | 34.2 | 20 | 29.9 | 0.6438 |
| Diabetes, insulin therapy§ | 3 | 23.1 | 1 | 5.0 | 0.0996 |
| Obesity (BMI >30 kg/m2) | 11 | 28.9 | 23 | 34.3 | 0.5712 |
| Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) | 6 | 15.8 | 8 | 11.9 | 0.5771 |
| Current smoking | 3 | 7.9 | 1 | 1.5 | 0.0996 |
| Previous smoking | 20 | 52.6 | 37 | 55.2 | 0.7978 |
| Dyslipidaemia | 28 | 73.7 | 42 | 63.3 | 0.2929 |
| Chronic renal insufficiency | 6 | 15.8 | 12 | 17.9 | 0.7817 |
| Patients’ characteristics | n | % | n | % | |
| Chronic hepatic disease | 1 | 2.6 | 3 | 4.5 | 0.6349 |
| Bleeding history or predisposition | 1 | 2.6 | 7 | 10.4 | 0.1469 |
| Heart valve dysfunction | 13 | 34.2 | 33 | 49.3 | 0.1354 |
| Valve replacement overall¶ | 0 | 0.0 | 9 | 27.3 | 0.0181 |
| Coronary heart disease (CHD) | 38 | 100 | 49 | 73.1 | 0.0004 |
| Previous coronary artery stenting** | 36 | 94.7 | 43 | 87.8 | 0.0005 |
| mean±SD | mean±SD | ||||
| Stent inserted (years ago) | 1.2±2.6 | 3.2±4.7 | 0.0178 | ||
| n | % | n | % | ||
| Previous myocardial infarction | 38 | 100 | 14 | 28.6 | <0.0001 |
| Previous ischaemic strokes | 3 | 7.9 | 6 | 9.0 | 0.8520 |
| Previous TIAs | 4 | 10.5 | 5 | 7.5 | 0.5900 |
| Previous other ischaemic-thromboembolic events | 0 | 0.0 | 10 | 14.9 | 0.0123 |
| Chronic heart failure total | 14 | 36.8 | 24 | 35.8 | 0.5308 |
| Peripheral arterial disease total | 7 | 18.4 | 6 | 9.0 | 0.3282 |
| Reduced LV function | 18 | 47.4 | 27 | 40.3 | 0.4818 |
| Thromboembolic events | 2 | 5.3 | 3 | 4.5 | 0.8559 |
*Patients assessed as ‘appropriate’ in online supplementary figure 2_triple therapy.
†Patients assessed as ‘inappropriate’ in online supplementary figure 2_triple therapy.
‡Global χ2 test.
§Denominator is diabetes.
¶Denominator is heart valve dysfunction.
**Denominator is coronary heart disease.
Missing values were not taken into account for calculation of percentages and p values.