Comparison of Clinical Characteristics between Patients with and
without SCEs
Sixty-six patients (23.1%) had SCEs (SCE[+]) and the remaining 219
patients did not (SCE[-], Table 1). Average age was significantly
higher in SCE[+] than SCE[-]. The prevalence of persistent AF,
CHADS2/CHA2DS2-VASc
scores, the prevalence of stroke/TIA, and serum NT-ProBNP levels were
higher in SCE[+] than in SCE[-]. In transthoracic
echocardiography, left-atrial dimension (LAD) was significantly larger
in SCE[+] than SCE[-]. In TEE, spontaneous echo contrast (SEC)
were more frequently observed in SCE[+] than in SCE[-]. During
the procedure, SCE[+] had lower baseline ACT values before UFH
injection and longer time to reach optimal ACT (> 300 sec)
than SCE [-]. The amount of UFH to reach the optimal ACT and the
total amount of UFH for the entire procedure were comparable between
SCE[+] and SCE[-] (Table 1).