The association between antiphospholipid syndrome and atrial fibrillation: a single center retrospective case-control study

Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is a systemic autoimmune syndrome characterized by arterial or venous thrombosis, pregnancy complications and thrombocytopenia. The aim of this study is to investigate the association between APS and atrial fibrillation (AF) among patients in Peking University People's Hospital. A single center retrospective study was conducted. Cases were hospitalized patients diagnosed with AF by a cardiologist while the control group patients did not exhibit cardiac diseases. The results of the study revealed that in multivariable logistic regression, APS, anticardiolipin antibody (aCL) positivity and anti-beta-2-glycoprotein antibody (anti-beta 2GPI) positivity are independent risk factors of AF. APS, aCL positivity and anti-beta 2GPI positivity are statistically different between AF patients and non-AF patients. Forthcoming studies are needed to clarify the potential link between APS and AF.