Health and Medicine for Seniors
Blood Test Reveals Genetic Risk of Atrial Fibrillation and Stroke
About half of the people with AFib are seniors age 75 or older
Oct. 3, 2014 Atrial fibrillation, which causes an irregular heartbeat, can lead to a number of health risks, including heart disease and stroke. Developing AFib increases markedly with older age, with about half of those with the condition are senior citizens over age 75. The American Heart Association points out people are more likely to get the condition if a family member has it. New research, however, has discovered how to identify with a simple blood test those who are genetically predisposed to develop atrial fibrillation and possibly a stroke.
About three out of four people who have a stroke for the first time have high blood pressure. And an irregular atrial heart rhythm - atrial fibrillation - is present in about one out of five strokes, according to the American Heart Association.
Stroke is the nations No. 4 killer. It happens when a blood vessel that supplies blood to the brain is blocked or bursts. Nearly 800,000 Americans suffer a stroke each year. High blood pressure is the chief culprit, and atrial fibrillation isnt far behind.
The number of people affected by atrial fibrillation is rising rapidly, partly as a result of the aging population.
Over recent years, a research group at Lund University in Sweden, working with other universities and hospitals in Europe and the USA, has identified twelve genetic variants in the human genome that increase the risk of atrial fibrillation. The research group has now studied the possible clinical benefits of a DNA test:
"One in five people have a genetic weakness that means they have twice as high a risk of developing atrial fibrillation as those with a low genetic risk. This genetic risk is therefore one of the strongest risk factors for atrial fibrillation that we know of in people without overt cardiac disease. It increases the risk as much as high blood pressure, for example", said Olle Melander, Professor of Internal Medicine, and Gustav Smith, Associate Professor in Cardiology, both from Lund University.
Since the symptoms of atrial flutter can be weak and unclear, they are sometimes difficult to pick up. However, even those with weak or absent symptoms of atrial flutter are at significantly higher risk of stroke.
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Blood Test Reveals Genetic Risk of Atrial Fibrillation and Stroke