Whites More Prone to Suffer From Certain Heart Conditions

A latest study conducted by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, says that a person's race or ethnic background could be a determining factor in certain heart conditions.

The study documented in the Journal Circulation reveals that non-Hispanic whites are more prone to develop atrial fibrillation, a frequently diagnosed heart condition that occurs due to irregular heart rhythm, than other people.

Atrial fibrillation comes with no symptoms. It is associated with fainting, chest pain, palpitations and congestive heart failure. This heart rhythm disorder increases the risk of stroke.

"We found that consistently, every other race had a statistically significant lower risk of atrial fibrillation compared to whites," senior author Gregory Marcus, MD, MAS, FHRS, an associate professor of medicine who specializes in electrophysiology in the UCSF Division of Cardiology, said in a press statement. "So this suggests that white race is itself a risk factor for atrial fibrillation."

The researchers analyzed the medical records of 14 million California patients who visited the emergency room, had outpatient services, or were hospitalized between the years 2005 and 2009. The list of patients included Hispanics, Asian Americans, African Americans and Caucasians.

Previous research had found that when compared to whites, African Americans were at a lower risk of developing atrial fibrillation, despite having more risk factors for it. The study involved Caucasians and African Americans. But  this study raised concerns over whether or not whites were at an increased risk of developing the heart condition..

"We were surprised to find that Asian Americans and Hispanics have similar relative decreases in atrial fibrillation risk as African Americans, suggesting there is some characteristic unique to whites that increases the likelihood of this abnormal heart rhythm," said first author Thomas A. Dewland, MD, a cardiac electrophysiology fellow in the UCSF Division of Cardiology.

The researchers assume that there must be a gene in the European ancestry or some key behaviour or environment exposure in whites that elevates the risk for this heart condition. The analysis reveals that the risk is not linked to existing cardiac conditions like high blood pressure or heart disease.

When compared to Caucasians, African Americans were at a 16 percent lower risk of developing atrial fibrillation and the Hispanics were at 22 percent lower risk and Asian Americans were at 22 percent lower risk of developing the heart condition.

Why only certain patients are affected with atrial fibrillation is still a mystery.