NPPB and atrial fibrillation: There was no statistically significant difference in the baseline characteristics between the AF patients and the control group, except in heart rate and values of NTproBNP that were higher in AF patients (median of 90 vs. 68 bpm, p < 0.001, and median of 895.0 vs. 85.0 pg/mL, respectively) (Table 1).