It is time for a belated look back on this year’s annual meeting in afib.no. This delayed post is a sign of things turning back to normal after the pandemic. We have all been busy traveling to physical meetings, which is pleasant but hectic!
Thank you all for contributing to such an inspiring meeting at Lysebu on September 29-30. We had an all-time high turnout, even though many of our members were unable to come due to conflicting events. This is promising with regard to afib.no 2023!
Day 1 started with exciting new exome sequencing data presented by Sean Jurgens from the AFGen consortium. Nate Tucker showed us intriguing ways to evaluate the function of genetic regions discovered in large-scale genetic studies – including some lessons learned from the hearts of grizzly bears.
The abstract session introduced us to six brilliant presentations through digital approaches for clinical studies, risk factors for AF, the effect physical activity on LA size and risk of AF, and AF-recurrence after ablation. Our early-career researchers showed impressive skills in both science and dissemination of such. Ellen Warlo won the award for the best abstract presentation – congratulations!
Peder Myhre took us through the most recent and conflicting studies on OMEGA 3 fatty acids and AF, whereas Hikaru Morooka represented a new research group in afib.no, focusing on women’s reproductive health and risk factors for AF in the HUNT study. We welcome Hikaru and Julie Horn at the Institute of Nursing and Public Health, NTNU to the network and look forward to some interesting results in the future.
As a new feature, we had a cultural event on Thursday evening, when internationally renowned artist, composer and author, Ketil Bjørnstad, mesmerized us with his grand piano. His personal stories and reflections gave an honest insight into the burden of living with AF.
On day 2, we had a nice re-encounter with our early-career session. Ida Lunde and Marius Myrstad shared their experiences with transitioning from a PhD-fellowship to a position as a more established researcher, building a team and creating connections with other researchers.
Results from two Bærum-based studies were presented by Elizabeth L Andersen and Eivind Sørensen. The Pre-Electric study described recurrence rates after electrical cardioversion and Dr. Sørensen showed how the left atrial strain is affected in athletes with AF.
The last session of the meeting included much anticipated news from AblaNor – the Norwegian Ablation registry presented by Peter Schuster. The registry seems to be a good source for future research projects on AF. Bente Morseth presented a multi-center study from the MORGAN consortium, showing large-scale results on AF incidence, attributable risk factor and risk of stroke and mortality.
It was a true pleasure to see you all again at Lysebu. I think it made us all aware that it is very important that we take the time to meet face-to-face now and then. It sparks new ideas, motivation and inspiration to continue our research in AF and to form new collaborations.
We look forward to next year’s meetings already!
- Afib.no workshop – April 20, 2023 – at venue tbd, Oslo, Norway
- 7th annual afib.no meeting 2022 – September 28-29, 2023 – at Lysebu, Oslo, Norway
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