Supporting data for "Disordered gut microbiota and alterations in metabolic patterns are associated with atrial fibrillation"

With the establishment of the heart-gut axis concept, accumulating studies suggest that the gut microbiome plays an important role in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases. Yet, little evidence has been reported in characterizing the gut microbiota shift in atrial fibrillation. We include the result of the global alterations that occur in the intestinal microbiota in a cohort of 50 atrial fibrillation patients and 50 matched controls based on a strategy of metagenomic and metabolomic analyses. The alterations include a dramatic elevation in microbial diversity, and a specific perturbation of gut microbiota composition. Overgrowth of Ruminococcus, Streptococcus and Enterococcus, as well as reduction of Faecalibacterium, Alistipes, Oscillibacter, and Bilophila were detected in atrial fibrillation patients. A gut microbial function imbalance and correlated metabolic pattern changes were observed with atrial fibrillation in both fecal and serum samples. The differential gut microbiome signatures could be used to identify atrial fibrillation patients. Our findings characterize the disordered gut microbiota and microbial metabolite profiles in atrial fibrillation. Intervention strategies targeting intestinal microbiome composition to counteract the progression of atrial fibrillation are highly suggested.