Smoking and risk of atrial fibrillation

Ahmed et al. showed that atrial fibrillation (AF) was identified in 9.5% in smokers vs 7.8% in non-smokers (p<0.001) and smoking was associated with a 15% increased risk of AF during 10 years follow up in 11,047 participants. However, heterogeneities in the association were observed among subgroups; the association was stronger in young compared to older participants and in those with prior cardiovascular disease compared to without cardiovascular disease, also the association was significant in blacks but not in whites [1]. In this editorial, the relationship between smoking and the incidence of atrial fibrillation is reviewed.