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Catheter Ablation in Combination With Left Atrial Appendage Closure for Atrial Fibrillation
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A first-degree family history in lone atrial fibrillation patients

Gregory M Marcus1, Lisa M Smith, Eric Vittinghoff

  • 1Division of Cardiology, Electrophysiology Section, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA. marcusg@medicine.ucsf.edu

Heart Rhythm
|May 13, 2008
PubMed

Insights

Lone atrial fibrillation (AF) patients have a significantly higher frequency of first-degree relatives with AF compared to non-lone AF patients. This suggests a stronger inherited component in lone AF, highlighting the importance of family history in AF risk assessment.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Genetics
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • Atrial fibrillation (AF) may have an inherited basis, especially in lone AF cases.
  • Previous studies have not compared family history prevalence between lone AF and non-lone AF patients.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare the frequency of first-degree relatives with AF in lone AF versus non-lone AF patients.

Main Methods:

  • A case-control study was conducted with consecutive patients from an electrophysiology laboratory.
  • A convenience sample of subjects without known arrhythmias was included for comparison.

Main Results:

  • AF patients were significantly more likely to report a first-degree family history of AF (25% vs. 5%).
  • Lone AF patients had a substantially higher rate of first-degree relatives with AF (41% vs. 14%).
  • Multivariable analysis confirmed lone AF patients were significantly more likely to have a family history of AF (OR 7.2).

Conclusions:

  • Lone AF patients exhibit a substantially higher prevalence of first-degree family members with AF.
  • These findings indicate a potentially greater role of inherited traits in the etiology of lone AF.
Abstract

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