Introduction: : Endothelial nitric oxidase was reported to be down-regulated by atrial fibrillation (AF). We hypothesized that endothelial function may be down-regulated by AF.
Methods: We measured the endothelial function in patients with AF with Peripheral Arterial Tonometry (PAT), a novel noninvasive method to assess endothelial function. We divided 79 patients with AF into 2 groups, paroxysmal AF (n=50) and persistent AF (n=29). We measured 20 healthy volunteers with matched age and sex as control.
Results: RHI (reactive hyperemic index) in paroxysmal AF group was 1.75±0.5, 1.58±0.6 in persistent AF group, and 2.02±0.58 in control. One way ANOVA analysis showed that persistent AF group had a significantly lower RHI than control (p<0.05). Although RHI in persistent AF group tended to be lower than in paroxysmal AF group, yet we did not find the difference significant. Neither was the difference between paroxysmal AF group and control.
Conclusions: Persistent AF may damage the endothelial function. Paroxysmal has a tendency to damage the endothelial function, which needs to be proved by large scale study.