The prognostic value of interleukin-6 in the assessment of arrhythmia recurrence in patients with hypertension and paroxysmal atrial fibrillation

Aim. To study the prognostic value of interleukin-6 (IL-6) in assessing the risk of arrhythmia recurrence in patients with arterial hypertension (AH) and paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF). Materials and methods. 95 patients with AH and paroxysmal AF were included in the study. The prospective follow-up of the patients was 6 months, and the end point of the study was a reported recurrence of AF. Depending on the end point of the study, the patients were divided into 2 groups: group 1 included 32 patients who had a recurrence of AF within 6 months; group 2 consisted of 63 patients without recurrence of arrhythmia. Results. The average concentration of IL-6 in blood plasma at the inclusion visit was significantly higher in patients of group 1 than in patients of group 2 (p0.05). There was a significant increase in the Cardio-Ankle Vascular Index (CAVI index) in patients with AF relapses than in patients without AF relapses – 8.9 [8.6; 9.1] and 7.7 [7.5; 8.3] (p0.05). We found a moderate direct correlation between the value of the CAVI index and the plasma concentration of IL-6 (r=0.6; p=0.024). In patients with AH and paroxysmal AF, a statistically significant association with the likelihood of arrhythmia recurrence was shown by such indicators as the level of IL-6 in blood plasma (Odds Ratio 1.42, 95% Confidence Interval – CI 1.18–1.70; p=0.001) and the CAVI index (Odds Ratio 1.31, 95% CI 1.08–1.58; p=0.005). Conclusion. An increase in the level of IL-6 in blood plasma of more than 4.0 pg/ml with a sensitivity of 70% and specificity of 72% indicates a high risk of AF recurrence in patients with AH and paroxysmal AF (Area Under the Curve – AUC 0.76), increases the risk of recurrence of arrhythmia by 1.42 times (95% CI 1.18–1.70; p=0.001).