Cardiologists and geneticists have figured out where to look for the cause of arrhythmia

“Atrial fibrillation affects at least 33-34 million people worldwide, and this is only one of the manifestations of arrhythmia,” the WHO said.
If you do not carefully study the problem, do not improve the methods of diagnosis and treatment, arrhythmia will kill more people than all incurable diseases combined. Researchers from the EURAC Center for Biomedicine have succeeded in studying the genetic causes of arrhythmia and other cardiovascular problems. As a result of large-scale studies, 23 genes have been found that affect the work of the heart. These genes control the QT interval, or the length of the heart’s electrical systole, as this parameter is often called. This indicator is part of the heart cycle, which is usually measured using an ECG. Prolongation of the interval indicates the presence of dysfunction and indicates a fivefold increase in the risk of heart failure and sudden death. Until now, scientists could not name the reasons for the changes, there was only an assumption that the answers should be sought in the genome of patients. Specialists of the International Research Consortium collected information on the length of systole in 100,000 patients. Then, in all these volunteers, the scientists collected genetic material and tried to find a relationship between the lengthening of the interval and genetic features. They identified 23 genes that affect the transport of calcium ions and the electrical activity of muscles. Now scientists from the EURAC Center for Biomedicine will continue to study the identified genes and test the possibility of influencing their work of drugs and common risk factors.

Source: estet-portal.com