Morten Mattingsdal and Ingrid Elisabeth Christophersen attended the American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions in Philadelphia on November 10-13, 2023, to present results from the Genetics in Atrial Fibrillation (GENAF) study. Dr. Christophersen is project leader. Morten Mattingsdal is the main computational analyst and presented results from the analyses of 90 whole-genomes from individuals with early-onset atrial fibrillation. A number of genes were enriched for functional variation in the individuals with early-onset atrial fibrillation, including the gene Titin (TTN), which encodes a central component of the sarcomere and cardiac myocyte. Functional characterization in a mouse model with only one working copy of TTN, showed significant alterations on electron microscopy and RNA sequencing in atrial tissue.

Tove-Elizabeth Frances Hunt (Rikshospitalet, OUS) presented results from echocardiogarphic evaluation of patients diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea and atrial fibrillation (AF), focusing on left atrial index volume and atrial strain. Patients were randomized 1:1 to either continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment or to standard care. The results showed that CPAP treatment had no effect on cardiac remodeling compared to standard care in these patients. The results were in line with previous reports from the same study, showing that CPAP treatment in patients with OSA and AF had no effect on the total AF burden or recurrence of AF after pulmonary vein isolation compared with standard care.

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