Uninterrupted Dabigatran Administration Provides Greater Inhibition against Intracardiac Activation of Hemostasis as Compared to Vitamin K Antagonists during Cryoballoon Catheter Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation

Figures

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  Figure 1. Study groups according to pre-procedural anticoagulation strategy. INR: International Normalised Ratio, OAC: oral anticoagulant, VKA: vitamin K antagonist.

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  Figure 2. Left atrium D-dimer levels before and after cryoballoon ablation procedure in AF patients on various pre-procedural anticoagulation strategies. Box and whisker plots indicate median, interquartile range, and total range. Dashed lines indicate diagnostic cut-off level for venous thromboembolic events (0.5 mg/L). PRE (empty bars): pre-ablation, POST (solid bars): post-ablation, OAC: oral anticoagulant, VKA: vitamin K antagonist. * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001. Statistical significance remained essentially the same when assessed after controlling for the effect of covariates associated with selection (age, sex) between treatment groups.

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  Figure 3. Left atrium plasmin-antiplasmin (PAP)-complex levels before and after cryoballoon ablation procedure in AF patients on various pre-procedural anticoagulation strategies. Box and whisker plots indicate median, interquartile range, and total range. PRE (empty bars): pre-ablation, POST (solid bars): post-ablation, OAC: oral anticoagulant, VKA: vitamin K antagonist. * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01. Statistical significance remained essentially the same when assessed after controlling for the effect of covariates associated with selection (age, sex) between treatment groups.

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  Figure 4. Left atrium α2- plasmin inhibitor activity levels before and after cryoballoon ablation procedure in AF patients on various pre-procedural anticoagulation strategies. Box and whisker plots indicate median, interquartile range, and total range. Dashed lines indicate lower and upper limit of reference interval (80–120%). PRE (empty bars): pre-ablation, POST (solid bars): post-ablation, OAC: oral anticoagulant, VKA: vitamin K antagonist. * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01. Statistical significance remained essentially the same when assessed after controlling for the effect of covariates associated with selection (age, sex) between treatment groups.

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  Figure 5. Left atrium fibrinogen levels before and after cryoballoon ablation procedure in AF patients on various pre-procedural anticoagulation strategies. Box and whisker plots indicate median, interquartile range, and total range. Dashed lines indicate lower and upper limit of reference interval (1.5–4 g/L). PRE (empty bars): pre-ablation, POST (solid bars): post-ablation, OAC: oral anticoagulant, VKA: vitamin K antagonist. ** p < 0.01.

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  Figure 6. Left atrium fibrin monomer levels before and after cryoballoon ablation procedure in AF patients on various pre-procedural anticoagulation strategies. Box and whisker plots indicate median, interquartile range, and total range. Dashed lines indicate diagnostic cut-off level for prethrombotic conditions (10 mg/L). PRE (empty bars): pre-ablation, POST (solid bars): post-ablation, OAC: oral anticoagulant, VKA: vitamin K antagonist. * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001. Statistical significance remained essentially the same when assessed after controlling for the effect of covariates associated with selection (age, sex) between treatment groups.

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  Figure 7. Left atrium von Willebrand factor (VWF) antigen levels before and after cryoballoon ablation procedure in AF patients on various pre-procedural anticoagulation strategies. Box and whisker plots indicate median, interquartile range, and total range. Dashed lines indicate lower and upper limit of reference interval (50–160%). PRE (empty bars): pre-ablation, POST (solid bars): post-ablation, OAC: oral anticoagulant, VKA: vitamin K antagonist. ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001.

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  Figure 8. Left atrium FVIII activity levels before and after cryoballoon ablation procedure in AF patients on various pre-procedural anticoagulation strategies. Box and whisker plots indicate median, interquartile range, and total range. Dashed lines indicate lower and upper limit of reference interval (60–168%). PRE (empty bars): pre-ablation, POST (solid bars): post-ablation, OAC: oral anticoagulant, VKA: vitamin K antagonist. ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001.