- Atrial fibrillation (AFib) is an irregular heart rhythm and a type of arrhythmia for which there is currently no cure.
- Researchers compared atrial heart tissue from people with AFib to those without the condition to seek potential new treatments.
- In heart tissue from patients with AFib, researchers found an expansion of immune cells called macrophages, which contribute to tissue scarring.
- Further studies are needed to understand what this means for the development and prevention of AFib.
Atrial fibrillation (AFib) occurs when the two upper chambers of the heart (the atria) beat irregularly, what may lead them to get out of sync with the two lower chambers of the heart — the ventricules. This can reduce cardiac performance and lead to
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Understanding more about how specific cells in the atria function during AFib could help researchers develop treatment and prevention strategies for the condition.
Recently, researchers found that immune cells known as macrophages support inflammation and scarring in the atria, and that reducing macrophage activity reduces these effects.
“Atrial fibrillation, despite its relatively high prevalence and incidence in the U.S., often puzzles clinicians and researchers in regard to its causative foundations for any given case,” Dr. J. Wes Ulm, a bioinformatic scientific resource analyst, and biomedical data specialist at the National Institutes of Health, who was not…
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