Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 7, 2025

Catheter Ablation in Combination With Left Atrial Appendage Closure for Atrial Fibrillation
Published on: February 26, 2013
[Metabolic mechanism and intervention strategy of atrial fibrillation in the elderly]
Yuan-Qing Yang1, Ling-Yan Jin2, Zi-Wei Chen3
1School of Life Sciences, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an 710072, China.
Abstract:
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a cardiovascular epidemic that occurs primarily in the elderly with primary cardiovascular diseases, leading to severe consequences such as stroke and heart failure. The heart is an energy-consuming organ, which requires a high degree of metabolic flexibility to ensure a quick switch of metabolic substrates to meet its energy needs in response to physiological and pathological stimulation. Metabolism is closely related to the occurrence of AF, and AF patients manifest metabolic inflexibility, such as insulin resistance and the metabolic shift from aerobic metabolism to anaerobic glycolysis. Moreover, our research group and the others have shown that metabolic inflexibility is a crucial pathologic mechanism for AF. Energy metabolism is closely linked to the aging process and aging-related diseases, and impaired metabolic flexibility is considered as an essential driver of aging. Therefore, this review focuses on the alteration of metabolic flexibility in the elderly and reveals that impaired metabolic flexibility may be an important driver for the high prevalence of AF in the elderly, hoping to provide intervention strategies for the prevention and treatment of AF in the elderly.
Related Concept Videos
Heart Failure Drugs: Inhibitors of Renin-Angiotensin System
Antiarrhythmic Drugs: Class II Agents as β-Adrenergic Blockers
Heart Failure Drugs: β-Blockers
Antiarrhythmic Drugs: Class III Agents as Potassium Channel Blockers
Antiarrhythmic Drugs: Class IV Agents as Calcium Channel Blockers
Verapamil, a calcium channel blocker, inhibits calcium movement across myocardial cell membranes and vascular smooth muscle. This results in the dilation of coronary and...
Antianginal Drugs: Calcium Channel Blockers and Ranolazine
CCBs, a diverse class that includes dihydropyridines (nifedipine) and diphenylalkylamines (verapamil and diltiazem), exert their effect by blocking calcium channels in cardiac and smooth muscle cells. This...

