الفهرس 
IntroductionOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is considered the most common sustained cardiac arrhythmia; also it is an independent predictor of morbidity, even mortality and associated with high risk of thrombo-embolic stroke. Assessment of plasma levels of ADAMTS 13 as a risk factor for left atrial thrombosis in patients with atrial fibrillation. To achieve this aim, we measured the plasma levels of ADAMTS13 in 60 patients with chronic AF as well as, in 20 healthy subjects with matched age and sex to serve as a control group. Moreover, conventional transthoracic echocardiography was performedon all patients. Serum ADAMTS13 median level was significantly decreased in AF group when compared with control group. AF cases with spontaneous echo contrast (SEC) showed significant lower ADAMTS 13 when compared to those without SEC. ADAMTS 13 level showed significant negative correlation with LAD in AF cases. ADAMTS 13 deficiency is a potential risk factor of left atrial thrombosis in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). ADAMTS 13 assay could be implemented in laboratory work up of patients with AF for risk stratification for potential left atrial thrombosis.