Letter: Atrial fibrillation and platelet reactivity: in International Journal of Cardiology(ISSN 0167-5273)(EISSN 1874-1754)

BACKGROUND: The impact of atrial fibrillation (AF) upon platelet reactivity has not been investigated.METHODS: Subjects were 33 individuals with AF who consented to elective electrical cardioversion (ECV) immediately before ECV determination of surface-bound fibrinogen after stimulation i.e. platelet reactivity was carried out. A flow cytometer was employed. ADP (1.7 and 8.5mumol/L) and a thrombin receptor activating peptide (54 and 74mumol/L) were used as agonists. The analyses were repeated after 26+/-8(SD) months.RESULTS: Compared to day 1 subjects with AF (n=18) had a trend towards lower platelet reactivity at study end. It reached significance when using 1.7mumol/L ADP. In contrast, after 26+/-8(SD) months sinus rhythm (SR) (n=15) was associated with significant lower reactivity with all agonists.CONCLUSION: After 26+/-8(SD) months patients returning with AF had higher platelet reactivity than those who remained with SR.