A systematic evaluation of the available evidence suggests similarities as well as important differences in the risk factors for incidence of AF as compared with other cardiovascular diseases , which has implication s for the primary prevention strategies for atrial fibrillation
Established primary prevention strategies of cardiovascular diseases are based on underst and ing of risk factors , but whether the same risk factors are associated with  atrial fibrillation ( AF )  remains unclear .
A multimarker approach to assess the influence of inflammation on the incidence of atrial fibrillation in women.
AIMS To assess the joint influence of inflammatory biomarkers on the risk of incident atrial fibrillation ( AF ) in women . METHODS AND RESULTS We performed a prospect i ve cohort study among women participating in the Women 's Health Study . All women were free of AF at study entry and provided a baseline blood sample assayed for high-sensitivity C-reactive protein , soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 , and fibrinogen . To evaluate the joint effect of these three biomarkers , an inflammation score was created that ranged from 0 to 3 and reflected the number of biomarkers in the highest tertile per individual . During a median follow-up of 14.4 years , 747 of 24,734 women ( 3.0 % ) experienced a first AF event . Assessed individually , all three biomarkers were associated with incident AF , even after adjustment for traditional risk factors . When combined into an inflammation score , a strong and independent relationship between inflammation and incident AF emerged . Across increasing inflammation score categories , there were 1.66 , 2.22 , 2.73 , and 3.25 AF events per 1000 person-years of follow-up . The corresponding hazard ratios ( 95 % confidence intervals ) across inflammation score categories were 1.0 , 1.22 ( 1.00 - 1.49 ) , 1.32 ( 1.06 - 1.65 ) , and 1.59 ( 1.22 - 2.06 ) ( P for linear trend 0.0006 ) after multivariable adjustment . CONCLUSION In this large-scale prospect i ve study among women without a history of cardiovascular disease , markers of systemic inflammation were significantly related to AF even after controlling for traditional risk factors
A systematic evaluation of the available evidence suggests similarities as well as important differences in the risk factors for incidence of AF as compared with other cardiovascular diseases , which has implication s for the primary prevention strategies for atrial fibrillation
Established primary prevention strategies of cardiovascular diseases are based on underst and ing of risk factors , but whether the same risk factors are associated with  atrial fibrillation ( AF )  remains unclear .