EDITORIALS
Inflammation and atrial fibrillation: cause or effect?
1 Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
2 Haemostasis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology Unit, University Department of Medicine, City Hospital, Birmingham, UK
Correspondence to:
Dr Christopher J Boos, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK; christopherboos@hotmail.com
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is an emerging epidemic of cardiovascular disease (CVD), being responsible for approximately 1% of the National Health Service budget of the United Kingdom.1 AF is linked to both increased morbidity (eg from ischaemic stroke, heart failure and dementia) and mortality.2 Consequently, the quest to elucidate the complexities of AF pathogenesis and perpetuation continues at a great pace, in the hope of developing future novel and effective therapeutic strategies.
Increasing attention has focused on the potential factors that might be involved in both the triggering and the perpetuation of AF. Inflammation has been postulated as a predisposing factor for AF, as well as its complications, including thromboembolism.2 In the first study to identify a potential link between inflammation and AF, Frustaci et al3 demonstrated evidence of focal myocarditis on left ventricular endocardial biopsies of three out of 14 patients with lone AF. The authors expanded on this initial
CiteULike 
Complore 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us 
Digg 
Reddit 
Technorati What's this?
Relevant Article
- The role of the post-cardioversion time course of hs-CRP levels in clarifying the relationship between inflammation and persistence of atrial fibrillation
- E M Kallergis, E G Manios, E M Kanoupakis, H E Mavrakis, S G Kolyvaki, G M Lyrarakis, G I Chlouverakis, and P E Vardas
Heart 2008 94: 200-204.[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
This article has been cited by other articles:
-
Pellegrini, C N, Vittinghoff, E, Lin, F, Hulley, S B, Marcus, G M
(2009). Statin use is associated with lower risk of atrial fibrillation in women with coronary disease: the HERS trial. Heart
95: 704-708
[Abstract] [Full Text] -
Balasubramaniam, R, Kistler, P M
(2009). Atrial fibrillation in heart failure: the chicken or the egg?. Heart
95: 535-539
[Abstract] [Full Text]
- Full Text
- Full Text (PDF)
- Submit a response
- Alert me when this article is cited
- Alert me when eLetters are posted
- Alert me if a correction is posted
- Citation Map
Services
- Email this link to a friend
- Similar articles in this journal
- Similar articles in PubMed
- Add article to my folders
- Download to citation manager
- Request Permissions
Citing Articles
Google Scholar
PubMed
Topic Collections
Bookmark with
Register for free content
The full back archive is now available for all BMJ Journals. Institutional subscribers may access the entire archive as part of their subscription. Personal subscribers will also have access to all content when logged in. Non-subscribers who register have free access to all articles published before 2006 right back to volume 1 issue 1. Register here to access the free archive of all BMJ Journals.
Don't forget to sign up for content alerts so you keep up to date with all the articles as they are published.
