• April 26, 2024

Whites are more likely than other racial or ethnic groups in the United States to have a common cardiac arrhythmia problem, called atrial fibrillation , according to a new study published in the journal Circulation.

This heart problem, caused by a problem in the electrical system of the heart, can cause symptoms such as palpitations, shortness of breath and dizziness.

It can also increase the risk of stroke, heart attack and heart failure. Research shows that people over 40 have a lifetime risk of 26% of contracting atrial fibrillation .

Other breeds have lower risk

In this study, the researchers analyzed the data collected from 14 million patients in California between 2005 and 2009, and found that the risk of atrial fibrillation in whites it was 16% higher than in blacks, and 22% higher than in Hispanics and Asian Americans.

"We found that, consistently, each of the other races had a statistically significantly lower risk of atrial fibrillation than the whites.

This suggests that the white race is in itself a risk factor for atrial fibrillation ", affirmed the main author of the study, the Dr. Gregory Marcus, associate professor of medicine in the division of cardiology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) , in a press release from the university.

Because of the genes?

Previous research found that blacks had a lower risk of atrial fibrillation than whites, even though they have more risk factors for the disease. This raised the question of whether blacks were protected or whether whites were at greater risk, which led to this new study.

The first author of the study, the Dr. Thomas Dewland, cardiac electrophysiology associate in the cardiology division of UCSF , said the findings suggest that "whites have some unique characteristic that increases their likelihood of suffering from this heart rate anomalous".

According to Marcus, "there may be a gene, or a group of genes, in the European ancestors or some important behavior or environmental exposure of whites that makes them have a greater risk of fibrillation atrial ".

However, he added, "based on several analyzes conducted in the study, the risk is not related to existing heart problems, such as hypertension or an existing heart disease."