NPPB and atrial fibrillation: These were: (i) concurrent presence of atrial fibrillation (AF), classified as first diagnosed AF, paroxysmal, persistent or permanent as defined by ESC guidelines17); (ii) N-terminal brain natriuretic peptide levels (NT-proBNP); (iii) estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR); (iv) change in left ventricular ejection fraction [i.e. the difference in the left ventricular ejection fraction (%) be measurement using the same imaging modality for calculating left ventricular ejection fraction]; and (v) New York Heart Association class (NYHA) (Figure 2 and Table 1).