Next to such atrial changes (reflected by NT-proBNP, or DKK3), Ang-2, a marker of endothelial dysfunction, suggests that there is a pronounced vascular remodeling in AF patients, which could add a further causality to the increased thromboembolic risk in AF next to the blood stasis in the atrium generally described as major stroke risk. This evidence concerns the gene DKK3 and atrial fibrillation.