Evaluation of D-Dimer Levels in Various Subgroups of Atrial Fibrillation: Role in Risk Stratification

Results: 70 patients with AF were studied over a one-year period. Mean age of study population was 53 years. Valvular AF was the most common etiology(30%) noted followed by non-ischemic cardiomyopathy (NICM) (14.2%). About half of study population had history of heart failure whereas thromboembolism(TE) was noted in 15.7%. 72.8% patients had elevated D-dimer levels in the cohort. D-dimer levels were significantly higher in valvular AF(1.2 μg/ml) and NICM patients(1.4 μg/ml) (p=0.005). Higher D-dimer levels were noted in those with heart failure (HF) events (p=0.016). D-dimer levels were shown to accurately detect prior HF/ TE events with levels of 1.1 μg/ml and higher having a sensitivity and specificity of 59.1% and 81%, respectively (AUC 0.727).