Preexisting or new-onset atrial fibrillation (AF) commonly occurs in patients with an acute coronary syndrome (ACS). However, it is currently unknown if previous or new-onset AF confers different risks in these patients. To determine the prognostic significance of new-onset and previous AF in patients with ACS, we evaluated all patients with ACS enrolled in the multinational Global Registry of ...

BACKGROUND Self-reported atrial fibrillation (AF) and diagnoses from hospital registers are often used to identify persons with AF. The objective of this study was to validate self-reported AF and hospital discharge diagnoses of AF among participants in a population-based study. MATERIALS AND METHODS Among 50,805 persons who participated in the third survey of the HUNT Study (HUNT3), 16,247 p...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Atrial fibrillation (AF) is prevalent and there is a clinical need for biomarkers to identify individuals at higher risk for AF. Fixed throughout a life course and assayable early in life, genetic biomarkers may meet this need. Here, we investigate whether multiple single nucleotide polymorphisms together as an AF genetic risk score (AF-GRS) can improve prediction of one'...

OBJECTIVE We determined the effectiveness of the HATCH score in patients with typical atrial flutter (AFl) undergoing cavotricuspid isthmus (CTI) ablation to predict long-term atrial fibrillation (AF). METHODS We conducted an observational retrospective single-center cohort study including all patients admitted to our hospital for a CTI ablation between 1998 and 2010. The patients were divide...

BACKGROUND Atrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with inflammation and endothelial dysfunction. However, the association between inflammation (as indexed by high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, hs-CRP) and endothelial function [as indexed by big endothelin-1 (ET-1)] in AF patients remains unclear. METHODS We enrolled 128 patients with lone AF, among which 83 had paroxysmal AF, and 45 had per...

BACKGROUND Although atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common complication of acute myocardial infarction (MI), patient characteristics and association with outcomes remain poorly defined in the elderly. METHODS AND RESULTS We evaluated 106 780 Medicare beneficiaries > or =65 years of age from the Cooperative Cardiovascular Project treated for acute MI between January 1994 and February 1996 to det...

Objective: To examine the hypothesis that major extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins are expressed differently in the left atrial tissue of patients in sinus rhythm (SR), lone atrial fibrillation (AF), and AF with underlying mitral valve disease (MVD). Design: Case-control study. Patients: 118 patients with lone AF, MVD+AF, and SR. Main outcome measures: Collagen I, collagen III, and fibronectin...

BACKGROUND Dietary fats have effects on biological pathways that may influence the development and maintenance of atrial fibrillation (AF). However, associations between n-3 (ω-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids and AF are inconsistent, and data on other dietary fats and AF risk are sparse. OBJECTIVES We examined the association between dietary fatty acid (FA) subclasses and risk of incident AF a...