Introduction: Although a positive association between serum uric acid levels and atrial fibrillation has been demonstrated in some studies, it is currently poorly known. There has been a great deal of interest about the role of serum uric acid levels in the development
Purpose: To study the correlation between serum uric acid level and paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.
Methods: Two hundred patients(pts), who were admitted in the emergency department of our university hospital center were included in the study; 100 of them with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF) and 100 pts without PAF(control group). Exclusion criteria included: presence of valvular and congenital heart disease, gout, severe heart failure. Demographic, clinical, and echocardiographic characteristics were recorded for every pts. Serum uric acid(SUA) levels were measured.
Results: There was a significant difference between two groups in the age: 67,5 ± 10,18 years in pts with PAF vs 59,67 ± 10,63 in control group, p = 0,0001. Pts with PAF had more heart failure, pulmonary disease, thyroid disease, p < 0,05. The left atrial diameter in pts with PAF was 43,3 ± 5,8mm vs 39,5 ± 4,6mm, p = 0,0001 and serum uric acid level was significantly higher in pts with PAF than in control group, 6,72 ± 2,2 mg/dl vs 5,23 ± 1,56 mg/dl, p = 0,0001. After multivariate logistic regression analysis, besides the age, p = 0,00004, heart failure, p = 0,02, thyroid disease, p = 0,01 as important risk factors for atrial fibrillation, SUA level was an independent risk factor for PAF, p = 0,00001, (OR: 1,07).
Conclusions: There is a significant positive correlation between increased levels of serum uric acid with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.