NPPB and atrial fibrillation: Patients with AF progression were older and had significantly higher BNP (1488.6 ± 339.19 vs. 551.1 ± 81.85, p < 0.001) and Gal-3 (13.5 ± 0.94 vs. 7.9 ± 0.37, p < 0.001) levels, larger left atrial diameter (LAD) (41.3 ± 0.90 vs. 39.2 ± 0.39, p = 0.021), and higher percentage of previous stroke history (17.7% vs. 7.4%, p = 0.035).