Objective:To investigate the correlation between atrial tissue aldosterone level and atrial extracellular matrix remodeling in patients with atrial fibrillation and to evaluate the effects of aldosterone on the progress of atrial structural remodeling. Methods: Twenty-five patients with rheumatic heart valve disease (12 with sinus rhythm, 13 with chronic atrial fibrillation for ≥6 months) were included in the present study. The right and left atrial lateral wall tissue samples(12 right and 7 left atrial sam...