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Understanding atrial enlargement to prevent atrial fibrillation
Baker Institute researchers have led a scientific review into atrial enlargement — expansion of the upper chambers of the heart — to highlight an area that requires greater research and understanding to improve atrial fibrillation prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
The review, published today in one of the world’s leading peer-reviewed cardiovascular journals — the Journal of the American College of Cardiology — examined atrial enlargement associated with cardiac disease in comparison to atrial enlargement in response to normal physiological stimuli including exercise and pregnancy.
The review, led by, Professor Julie McMullen, Professor Tom Marwick and colleagues, show atrial enlargement associated with both cardiac disease and physiological stimuli can be comparable in magnitude but the diseased heart is often associated with complications such as atrial fibrillation, the most common type of irregular heartbeat.