Genetics of Atrial Fibrillation and Standstill

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia and is associated with an unfavorable prognosis. Monogenetic forms of AF, however, represent a rare AF subtype. Although the identified mutations in affected family members have large effects, they do not seem to play a major role in more common AF present in the majority of the patients. The majority of patients have AF in association with concomitant (cardiovascular) conditions. In the last few years increasing data have been reported supporting the notion that there is a genetic component to more common AF. Recently, GWAS of the common AF phenotype have been successful in identifying three genetic loci associated with AF.