Baseline characteristics of patients with and without AHREs
| Variable | Overall (n=343) | Patients without AHREs (n=178) | Patients with AHREs (n=165) | p Value |
| Age, years | 80±7 | 80±7 | 80±7 | 0.38 |
| Male sex | 167 (49) | 79 (48) | 88 (49) | 0.77 |
| BMI, kg/m2 | 23±4 | 23±4 | 23±4 | 0.26 |
| Current smoking | 32 (9) | 15 (8) | 17 (10) | 0.55 |
| Reason for PMI | ||||
| Sinus node disease/AV node disease | 147/196 (43/57) | 46/132 (26/74) | 101/64 (61/39) | <0.01 |
| CHADS2 score | 2.3±1.1 | 2.1±1.0 | 2.5±1.2 | <0.01 |
| (0/1–2/>2) | 17/200/126 (5/58/37) | 12/111/55 (7/62/31) | 5/89/71 (3/54/43) | 0.03 |
| Comorbidities | ||||
| Congestive heart failure | 56 (16) | 17 (10) | 39 (24) | <0.01 |
| Hypertension | 278 (81) | 141 (79) | 137 (83) | 0.37 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 94 (27) | 49 (28) | 45 (27) | 0.96 |
| Previous stroke/SE/TIA | 52 (15) | 21 (12) | 31 (19) | 0.07 |
| Dyslipidaemia | 136 (40) | 72 (40) | 64 (39) | 0.75 |
| Chronic kidney disease | 205 (60) | 108 (61) | 97 (59) | 0.72 |
| Coronary artery disease | 38 (11) | 15 (8) | 23 (14) | 0.10 |
| Cardiomyopathy | 18 (5) | 5 (3) | 13 (8) | 0.04 |
| Valvular heart disease | 35 (10) | 14 (8) | 21 (8) | 0.14 |
| Mitral valve disease | 14 (4) | 5 (3) | 9 (5) | 0.22 |
| Prior documented paroxysmal AF | 82 (24) | 13 (7) | 69 (42) | <0.01 |
| Echocardiography | ||||
| LVEF, % | 67±9 | 67±8 | 66±9 | 0.31 |
| LAD, mm | 41±7 | 40±6 | 43±7 | <0.01 |
| Drug prescribed at PMI | ||||
| Oral anticoagulant | 53 (15) | 7 (4) | 46 (28) | <0.01 |
| Antiplatelet (including aspirin) | 113 (33) | 54 (30) | 59 (36) | 0.29 |
| Class I or III AAD | 45 (13) | 9 (5) | 36 (22) | <0.01 |
Date are presented as means±SD or n (%).
AAD, antiarrhythmic drug; AF, atrial fibrillation; AHREs, atrial high rate episodes; AV node disease, atrioventricular node disease; BMI, body mass index; LAD, left atrial diameter; LVEF, left ventricular ejection fraction; PMI, pacemaker implantation; SE, systemic embolism; TIA, transient ischaemic attack.