Mayo Clinic researchers have found a gene mutation linked to one family’s hereditary form of atrial fibrillation. Researchers hope this discovery will lead to better understanding of the disease and, eventually, better ways to predict, prevent and treat the heart rhythm problem.
Atrial fibrillation is the most common irregular heartbeat seen by physicians and affects more than 2 million Americans. Most individuals with atrial fibrillation have identifiable risk factors, such as high blood pressure or structural heart disease, and tend to be elderly. But studies indicate that genetics also has a role, says Timothy Olson, M.D., a pediatric cardiologist at Mayo Clinic and senior author of the study.
“We know that some patients develop atrial fibrillation at a younger age without an apparent underlying cause, suggesting a hereditary basis for their disease and prompting research to identify gene mutations,” Dr. Olson says. “The family history may provide an additional clue. Atrial fibrillation can be caused by genetic defects that patients are born with, yet it typically takes years or decades for the heart to become electrically unstable and for symptoms of arrhythmia to develop.”
Dr. Olson provides background on the research and an overview of the study.
Dr. Olson describes the next steps for the research and potential future applications.
I am a 45 year old suffering from bouts of A-Fib. I have gone to the emergency room 3 times over the past 3 years. It used to be only once in a while but now I get it daily. It appears to be directly related to the digestive track. Perhaps the vegas nerve.My father has the same problem along with my uncle. It always seems to be associated with deep belching. My gastoenterologist has never heard of such a thing but I know my body and there is a definite correlation. I have also seen a electropysiologist who presrcibed me some pills to slow my heart rate but do not stop the a-fib. Any advice from anyone with knolege of this condition(possible vegal A-Fib) would be appreciated
I am 53 years old and have symtoms like yours. 4 abulance rides in past 3 months. whenever I go into afib it is accompanied by deep belching and involantary swollowing of air. My electrophysiologist says that it caused by the atrium of the heart slapping the a-fibe esophogeal tissues. Like yours I have not been able to come up with any relief. High doses of amiodarone seem to work somewhat but the side affects are worse the a-fib. I’m now not sure whether the belching causes the a-fib or vice versa
I am 53 years old and have symtoms like yours. 4 ambulance rides in past 3 months. whenever I go into a-fib it is accompanied by deep belching and involuntary swollowing of air. My electrophysiologist says that it caused by the atrium of the heart slapping the a-fib esophogeal tissues. Like yours I have not been able to come up with any relief. High doses of amiodarone seem to work somewhat but the side affects are worse than the a-fib. I’m now not sure whether the belching causes the a-fib or vice versa
I too have the same situation. For Two years I have battled to keep the a-fib under control. I was perscribed sotolol to regulate the heart, but it seems to do nothing to keep the a-fib at bay. Like the others, it is directly gastro related. Belching sometimes relieves the symptoms but always accompanies the a-fib. My 18 year old daughter also suffers palpatations. We notcied the symptoms after a very bad stomach flu in November of 06. Neither of us had experienced a-fib before the flu.
I hsd my first episode of afib at age 35 and in the ER the xray noted that I had a lot of gas in my intestines. I raised the question of a relationship with the vagus nerve with my MD who is pretty sharp but he didn’t buy it. Well, now vagal involvement is well-documented in some afibbers. While I hate the afib feeling I can function so for more than 20 years just waited out the episodes which lasted from 8 to as long as 30 hours then spontaneously converted to normal sinus rhythm. When they got to be occurring weekly I started on flecanide and that really helped for 3 years. Now I’m still on flecanide but am having episodes every few days along with many premature atrial contractions (PAC) between the afib episodes. After meals belching is common and is accompanied by PACs and sometimes afib. If I belch enough I can sometimes resolve the PACs. I take care to eat slowly and chew well so I am not swallowing air as my current Dr suggested. I think he said that because he didn’t know how to explain how the belcing related to afib. Amiodarone is the most effective afib drug but the side effects are terrible and I would never take it. Flecanide is OK if your heart is structurally sound but you have to spend 2 days in hospital when the drug is started so you can be evaluated for arrhythmias since flecainide itself can cause arrhythmias. The new drug Multaq is safe but not as effective as amiodarone.
I am 77 years old, VERY healthy except for A-Fib & I started A-Fib in 1995 when my son had open heart surgery for a hole in his heart at age 35. He and his twin brother now have experienced a few A-Fib attacks in the last 5 years.I have 2 uncles who have passed away from A-fib both in their late 50s or 60s. I have kept track of my A-Fib & I have had a total of 675 attacks over the last 16 years.I had every test going and found my heart very healthy. 8 years ago I started Inderol & 4 yrs later I started getting dizzy in the A.M. I switched to Atenolol 25MG A.M. & P.M. now is 4 years later & started getting dizzy again, so Dr. switched me to a Calcim channel blocker and made attacks VERY severe more frequent & pulse went down into the 30s.I went back on the Atenolol but gradully reduced to 12.5MG 2Xday and am stopping. Daily attacks are now stopping to one mild one every 3 or 4 days. Yes,I belch a lot prior to a attack, but if I walk I can belch easier and avoid a attack. My BP is now excellent at 101/60 pulse is 60BPM. However,now when my pulse is normal I can suddenly feel it NOT missing but dropping into the 30s for a few minutes, then back to normal 60s again. I walk a mile a day, do cruches on my ABs machine, and will try starting very slowly my 50 pushups daily again which I have not done in several years. Here is a note for A-Fib newbies, I took Magnesium Citrate 175MG 2XDay and had NO A-Fib for periods of 6 & 8 months. Here is another tip, fast for 24 hours (water only) and it cleans your arteries, yes it “does” work, & important for A-Fib.
P.S. My grandmother passed away at 103, and father chocked on peanut butter and passed away at 86. if anyone wants to take life insurance on me, I get 50% lol
There is a definate correlation between gas and AFIB. I don’t understand why MD’s don’t want to see this. I have had AFib since 2006 and have been on every med since with no success. I started to treat the excessive gas with gas-x or beano as well as eliminating gas producing foods from my diet and take a good digestive aid and I seem to eliminated the AFIB problem. When I do get slightly gassy, the pac’s start up again. If you study anatomy you’ll see that the esophagus lies directly between the posterior portion of the atrium near the pulmonary veins. This area must fill up with gas before belching and trigger the AFIB. There has to beva Doc out there that can see the correlation!!
Thanks for this site. I also have had AFIB for 7 or 8 years finally Doc’s believe me, wore monitor 3 times over five years before showed up. Absolutely there is a strong connection between AFIB and burping . Often you can stop a bout of AFIB or reduce severity by a bunch of burping. I have to avoid peanut butter it always seems to precipitate a bout. They want to put me on blood thinners which I do not want. They also found a hole in my heart between two chambers which they said is common and do not worry about it. Nuclear test showed heart function and size totally normal Doc said stress nuclear test showed no signs of blocked arteries. This started when I was about 55 now almost 62.