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(Circulation. 2007;116:782-792.)
© 2007 American Heart Association, Inc.

Contemporary Reviews in Cardiovascular Medicine

Genes and Atrial Fibrillation

A New Look at an Old Problem

Diane Fatkin, MD; Robyn Otway, PhD; Jamie I. Vandenberg, MB, BS, PhD

From Sr Bernice Research Program in Inherited Heart Diseases (D.F., R.O.) and Mark Cowley Lidwell Program in Electrophysiology and Biophysics (J.I.V.), Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, Darlinghurst, Australia; Cardiology Department (D.F.), St Vincent’s Hospital, Darlinghurst, Australia; and Faculties of Medicine and Science (D.F., J.I.V.), University of New South Wales, Kensington, Australia.

Correspondence to Diane Fatkin, MD, Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, Level 6, 384 Victoria St, Darlinghurst NSW 2010, Australia. E-mail d.fatkin@victorchang.unsw.edu.au

Key Words: arrhythmia • atrium • genetics • heart diseases • atrial fibrillation

An extract of the first 250 words of the full text is provided, because this article has no abstract.

	Introduction

 
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is an abnormality of the heart’s rhythm that is characterized by rapid and irregular activation of the atria. AF was first described in humans in 1906¹ and is now recognized to be the most common sustained cardiac arrhythmia and a major public health burden.² The loss of coordinated atrial contraction results in reduced ventricular filling and blood stasis in the atria, which predispose to heart failure and thromboembolic stroke, respectively.^3,4 AF accounts for 15% of all strokes and one third of strokes in individuals >65 years of age.⁴ AF is also an independent risk factor for death, with a relative risk over all age groups of 1.5 for men and 1.9 for women.⁵ The prevalence of AF increases with age, ranging from <1% in young adults to nearly 10% of those >80 years old.⁶ Given our aging population, together with contemporary increases in the incidence of risk factors for AF, the numbers affected and the hospitalization and treatment costs are predicted to increase markedly in the future.² These observations underscore the need for a better understanding of the pathophysiological basis of AF and for the development of new approaches to prevention and management.

AF is frequently observed as a complication of diverse cardiac and systemic disorders, including hypertension, coronary artery disease, valvular heart disease, and cardiomyopathies. Hence, AF has traditionally been regarded as a sporadic, nongenetic disorder. In approximately 10% to 20% of cases, an underlying cause cannot be identified, and AF is termed "idiopathic" or "lone."⁷ . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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