BACKGROUND Atrial fibrillation (AF) and atrial flutter (AFL) are common cardiac conduction disorders affecting many people. Recent studies on sporadic cases of AF/AFL showed a significant association of the single nucleotide polymorphism rs2200733T with the disease, suggesting a genetic factor in the development of the disease. OBJECTIVES To determine the association of rs2200733 with AF/AFL ...

Atrial fibrillation (AF) maintenance is promoted by an atrial substrate that is suitable for the initiation and continuation of the re-entering wavelets. During the first week of AF, the atrial substrate is modified by electrical remodeling, with shortening of the atrial refractoriness and slowing of the conduction velocity. Structural remodeling is the so-called "second factor" that facilitate...

Recent studies have reported an association between gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and atrial fibrillation (AF). The objective of the present study was to evaluate whether AF is one of the risk factors for GERD occurrence.In this hospital-based, retrospective, case-control study, the patients were classified into 2 groups. The patients diagnosed with new AF were assigned to the AF group...

BACKGROUND Although current alcohol consumption is a risk factor for incident atrial fibrillation (AF), the more clinically relevant question may be whether alcohol cessation is associated with a reduced risk. METHODS AND RESULTS We studied participants enrolled in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study (ARIC) between 1987 and 1989 without prevalent AF. Past and current alcohol consump...

Atrial fibrosis is considered as the basis in the development of long-standing atrial fibrillation (AF). However, in advanced heart failure (HF), the independent role of fibrosis for AF development is less clear since HF itself leads to atrial scarring. Our study aimed to differentiate patients with AF from patients without AF in a population consisting of patients with advanced HF. Myocardial ...

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia encountered in the U.S. and the growing burden of AF has profound health implications due to the association of AF with an increased risk of stroke, heart failure, and mortality. AF is a significant risk factor for thromboembolic stroke; and also independently increases total mortality in patients with and without cardiovascular disease. Va...

BACKGROUND Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia and is associated with increased risk of stroke and death. Obesity is an independent risk factor for AF, but modifiers of this risk are not well known. We studied the roles of obesity, physical activity, and their interaction in conferring risk of incident AF. METHODS AND RESULTS The Women's Health Initiative (WHI) Obse...

BACKGROUND The incremental effects of risk factor combinations for atrial fibrillation (AF) and stroke are incompletely understood. We sought to quantify the risks of incident AF and stroke for combinations of established risk factors in a large US sample. METHODS AND RESULTS Patients with no evidence of AF or stroke in 2007 were stratified by combinations of the following risk factors: heart...

BACKGROUND There is growing evidence that indicates the presence of a prothrombotic state in atrial fibrillation (AF). However, the role of hemostatic markers in AF remains inconclusive. METHODS We conducted a meta-analysis of observational studies to evaluate the association between hemostatic markers and AF. A meta-regression was performed to explore potential sources of heterogeneity. RE...

BACKGROUND The presence of multiple arrhythmogenic sources may be associated with the perpetuation of atrial fibrillation (AF). In this study, we investigated the hypothesis that multiple foci might be involved in the development of AF persistency. METHODS AND RESULTS Two hundred fourteen consecutive patients with AF undergoing catheter ablation were enrolled in this study. The location of th...