title: Increased pulse pressure independently predicts incident atrial fibrillation in patients with type 2 diabetes.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine whether baseline pulse pressure (PP), a marker of arterial stiffness, is associated with subsequent development of atrial fibrillation (AF) in type 2 diabetes.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 350 type 2 diabetic patients, who were free from AF at baseline, were followed for 10 years. A standard electrocardiogram was performed annually and a diagnosis of incident AF was confirmed in affected participants by a single cardiologist.
  
  
  RESULTS
  During the follow-up, 32 patients (9.1% of total) developed incident AF. After adjustments for age, sex, BMI, diabetes duration, presence of left ventricular hypertrophy, hypertension treatment, kidney dysfunction, and pre-existing history of coronary heart disease, heart failure, and mild valvular disease, baseline PP was associated with an increased incidence of AF (adjusted odds ratio 1.76 for each SD increment [95% CI 1.1-2.8]; P < 0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings suggest that increased PP independently predicts incident AF in patients with type 2 diabetes.
authors: Division of Internal Medicine, Sacro Cuore Hospital of Negrar, Verona, Italy.
authors: Filippo
authors: F
authors: Valbusa
authors: Stefano
authors: S
authors: Bonapace
authors: Lorenzo
authors: L
authors: Bertolini
authors: Luciano
authors: L
authors: Zenari
authors: Guido
authors: G
authors: Arcaro
authors: Giovanni
authors: G
authors: Targher
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors