Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 and tissue plasminogen activator and incident AF: Data from the PREVEND study

Background: Tissue-type plasminogen activator (TPA) and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) have been shown to be associated with increased risk for stroke, however, the association with incident atrial fibrillation (AF) is unknown. Methods: We examined 8265 individuals included in the PREVEND study. In all subjects. PAI-1 and TPA plasma/serum levels were measured using an ELISA kit. By means of univariate and multivariate analyses the association with incident AF was assessed. Results: Mean age was age 49 +/- 13 years, and 50% were women. Of the 8265 patients free of AF at baseline, 267 (3.2%) patients developed incident AF during a mean follow-up of 9.7 +/- 2.4 years. Baseline median levels of PAI-1 and TPA were 72.4 ng/ml and 3.1 ng/ml, respectively. In univariate analyses PM-i (Hazard ratio [HR] 1.10 95% Confidence interval [CI] 1.04-1.16, p