Association between Arterial Stiffness and Higher Burden of Atrial Arrhythmia in Elderly Hypertensive Patients without Atrial Fibrillation

Arterial stiffness is associated with higher burden of atrial arrhythmias and worsening left atrial function (conduit and reservoir), even before dilation of this cavity. PACs: premature atrial contractions; cfPWV: carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity. Increased arterial stiffness is currently an independent risk factor for atrial fibrillation, but the pathophysiological mechanisms of this arrhythmia remain an area of knowledge gap to be explored. To investigate the existence of an association between arterial stiffness and the density of premature atrial contractions (PACs) in hypertensive individuals without atrial fibrillation. Cross-sectional study with hypertensive patients without diagnosed atrial fibrillation, who were studied with speckle-tracking echocardiography to assess left atrial (LA) strain and carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV) to assess arterial stiffness. All patients underwent 24h-ECG Holter and laboratory tests. Significance level was set at p