Genetics may play role in atrial fibrillation

(TeleManagement) Children have double the risk of developing atrial fibrillation if a parent has this heart rhythm disorder, according to a study of participants in Framingham Heart Study. This is the study to find a genetic connection for atrial fibrillation in a community sample.
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a rapid and abnormal heart rhythm (arrhythmia) caused by faulty electrical signals from the upper chambers of the heart (atria). Electrical signals should normally be coming only from the sinus node (the heart’s natural pacemaker) in a steady rhythm – about 60 to 100 beats per minute. AF is marked by rapidly firing signals that come from the atria, increasing the heart rate to 100 to 175 beats per minute or more.

In response to these many rapid and chaotic signals, the atria quiver instead of contracting properly. Due to these abnormal contractions, the heart’s lower chambers ventricles beat rapidly. AF is the most common type of sustained arrhythmia, affecting 2 million people each year in the United States alone.

The study found that the risk doubled for children with at least one parent who had AF compared to children whose parents did not have the condition. This risk tripled when both parents had AF.

AF tends to occur in older people, and affects about 1 in every 10 persons aged 80 or over. It can be triggered by other heart conditions, such as uncontrolled high blood pressure. However, the study’s findings strongly support the theory that AF has genetic origins, which may appear in younger people and/or in the absence of a major disease.

The study’s lead researcher noted that the findings should not alarm people who have a parent with AF. AF with or without a family history is common in older people. The findings are useful for the scientific community to spur investigation on the genetic mechanisms of AF and how they interact with environmental influences.