The correlation of serum long non‐coding RNA ANRIL with risk factors, functional outcome, and prognosis in atrial fibrillation patients with ischemic stroke

Background This study aimed to evaluate the predictive value of long non‐coding RNA (lncRNA) antisense non‐coding RNA in the INK4 locus (ANRIL) for atrial fibrillation (AF) patients with ischemic stroke and investigate its correlation with risk factors, functional outcome, and prognosis. Methods A total of 386 consecutive AF patients were recruited. AF patients were followed up for 24‐48 months by outpatient follow‐up, telephone follow‐up, and medical record. The time of ischemic stroke in patients with AF was recorded, and follow‐up was continued for 6 months. LncRNA ANRIL expression from serum was detected by quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction (qRT‐PCR). Results Compared with the AF with ischemic stroke group (14.3 ± 2.3), patients in the AF without ischemic stroke group (11.9 ± 1.8) had significantly lower serum lncRNA ANRIL levels ( P < .05). The sensitivity and specificity of lncRNA ANRIL for identifying AF with ischemic stroke were 76.6% and 81.4%, respectively. Spearman correlation analysis results shown that lncRNA ANRIL was significantly correlated with the NIHSS score ( r Spearman = .490, P < .001) and the mRS score ( r Spearman = .466, P < .001). Compared with the lncRNA ANRIL high‐expression group, the recurrence‐free survival (RFS) of the lncRNA ANRIL low‐expression group was significantly higher ( χ 2 = 11.009, log‐rank P < .001). Cox proportional regression model analysis indicated that the serum lncRNA ANRIL level ( P = .004), NIHSS score ( P = .001), infarct volume ( P = .035), and smoking ( P < .001) were the risk factors for AF with ischemic stroke. Conclusion Serum lncRNA ANRIL exerts a good predictive value for AF with ischemic stroke, and its increased expression is correlated with worse RFS for patients.