Losing Rhythm: Gene mutation causes heart problems
By John Travis
Chinese researchers have for the first time identified a genetic defect that causes atrial fibrillation, a heart condition that afflicts 5 percent of people over 65 years old. In the disorder, the heart’s upper chambers, the atria, beat irregularly and too rapidly. Ultimately, this arrhythmia can cause heart failure or dangerous blood clots.
“Atrial fibrillation is the most common rhythm disturbance of the heart. It accounts for one-third of all strokes [in people] over the age of 65,” says cardiologist Robert Roberts of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.