Acute Onset Human Atrial Fibrillation Is Associated With Local Cardiac Platelet Activation and Endothelial Dysfunction

Acute Onset Human Atrial Fibrillation Is Associated With Local Cardiac Platelet Activation and Endothelial Dysfunction Joseph G. Akar, Walter Jeske, David J. Wilber To determine whether acute onset atrial fibrillation (AF) causes platelet activation, blood samples were obtained from the coronary sinus of patients before and after 15 min of AF and compared to control subjects undergoing right atrial pacing. Platelet activation increased after 15 min of AF (2.2 ± 0.6% to 2.8 ± 1.0%, p = 0.007) but did not change in the control group. The AF group had increased thrombin generation, decreased nitric oxide production, and no change in inflammatory markers. These findings show that human AF causes local cardiac platelet activation within minutes of onset.