Arrhythmias & electrophysiology
Genetic Variants Associated With Nonpulmonary Vein Triggers of Atrial Fibrillation: A Genome-Wide Association Study
Authors' conclusion
The rs117203318 variant, near genes associated with myocardial fibrosis and cellular stress responses, is associated with AF originating from non-PV foci. These findings suggest that there may be distinct substrates for non-PV AF and this could inform strategies to improve ablation outcomes.
Study context
- Population
- Patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) undergoing first catheter ablationdiscovery cohort, validated in an independent cohort (n = 371) · discovery cohort (analysed for triggers) 1,010 · replication cohort (analysed for triggers) 346 · independent cohort 371
- Participants
- 1,091 patients
- Exposure
- Associations between genetic variants and non-PV AF triggers
Methodological detailsindependent replication cohort, isoproterenol provocation
- Independent replication cohort
- Isoproterenol provocation
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Non-PV AF triggers documented
Discovery cohort
126 of 1,010 patients
12.5%
Replication cohort
37 of 346 patients
10.7%
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Association of rs117203318 (T>C) with non-PV AF triggers
| Comparison | OR (95% CI) | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| rs117203318 (T>C) · strongest association (discovery) | 1.98 (1.49–2.62) | P = 4.65 × 10-14 | |
| rs117203318 (T>C) | 3.31 (1.40–7.55) | P = 0.007 | |
| 0.10.31310Odds ratio (log scale) |
- Association of rs117203318 (T>C) with non-PV AF triggers: replication; Firth's penalized logistic regression adjusted for age and sex
Intra-atrial conduction times
- Non-PV AF associated with significantly longer intra-atrial conduction times
- rs117203318 showed no correlation with conduction parameters
Original publication
Genetic Variants Associated With Nonpulmonary Vein Triggers of Atrial Fibrillation: A Genome-Wide Association Study. JACC Adv. Published 29 May 2026. doi:10.
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it