Racial Differences in Incidence and Clinical Course of Atrial Fibrillation and What Remains to be Investigated

Abstract There are many risk factors identified for atrial fibrillation (AF), some of which differ between blacks and whites. These differences and differences in stroke occurrence and clinical course of AF between blacks and whites are reviewed. Risk factors identified to date include age, white race, male sex, body mass index (BMI) ≥30, height ≥173 cm, weight, increased waist circumference, higher levels of systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), increased pulse pressure, diagnosis of hypertension, antihypertensive medication use, HDL <40 mg/dL, triglycerides >200 mg/dL, lower heart rate, P-R interval >200 ms, ECG left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), ECG left atrial enlargement (LAE), diabetes, coronary artery disease (CAD), heart failure, low birth weight, cystatin C, NT-proBNP, forced expiratory volume (FEV1), left ventricular wall thickness, SES, chronic kidney disease, serum Mg, C-reactive protein, serum uric acid, smoking, serum phosphorus, calcium-phosphorus product, serum aldosterone, and galactin-3. Some genes have been associated with some of the risk factors with different occurrence rates in blacks and whites. The distribution of some of the risk factors has also been shown to differ in effect and frequency between blacks and whites. Hospital treatment of AF has also been seen to differ between blacks and whites. Various combinations of risk factors have been assembled and tested—none have explained more than 65 %...
Source: Current Cardiovascular Risk Reports - Category: Cardiology Source Type: research