One in THREE people will be struck by a ‘silent killer’ amid a health boom
Research shows that one in three people will develop an irregular heartbeat during their lifetime.
It was previously thought that atrial fibrillation, also known as a ‘silent killer’, would affect around a quarter of adults by the time they die.
But Danish experts who analyzed the health records of millions of adults found that the risk has only increased.
Atrial fibrillation, also known as a ‘silent killer’, was previously thought to affect around a quarter of adults. But Danish scientists found that of those with heart disease, two in five people are likely to develop heart failure during their lifetime
Doctors remain baffled about the exact cause of atrial fibrillation, which can lead to strokes.
However, it is known to be more common in people with high blood pressure – a consequence of being fat. The number of obesity cases has risen enormously in recent decades.
Researchers from Aalborg University also found that two in five patients are likely to develop heart failure. One in five will have a stroke.
Experts today argued that it was ‘critical’ health heads who are prioritizing heart failure prevention strategies and treatments to reduce the risk of complications.
Researchers analyzed data from more than 3.5 million Danes over the age of 45 who had no history of the condition.
Over a 23-year follow-up, they found that more than 360,000 participants were diagnosed with atrial fibrillation.
After taking into account influencing factors, including income and pre-existing medical conditions such as diabetes or high cholesterol, they compared the figures over two time periods — 2000 to 2010 and 2011 to 2022.
The overall lifetime risk was calculated at 31 percent between 2011 and 2022, compared to 24 percent between 2000 and 2010.
The risk was also ‘slightly’ increased among men, the researchers said.
Heart failure was the most common complication of the condition, with a lifetime risk of 41 percent.
This was double the risk of having a stroke (21 percent) and four times greater than the lifetime risk of heart attack (12 percent).
Researchers in the British Medical Journal wrote: ‘Our new quantification of the long-term consequences of atrial fibrillation highlights the critical need for treatments to further reduce the risk of stroke, as well as strategies for the prevention of heart failure in patients with atrial fibrillation.’
Randomized clinical trials and guidelines should “better reflect the needs of the real world population with atrial fibrillation,” she added.
The study also “raises critical questions for the research and clinical communities about how to stop the growing burden of atrial fibrillation,” they said.
With atrial fibrillation, the heartbeat is irregular and can sometimes be very fast. The NHS says: ‘In some cases it can be significantly higher than 100 beats per minute.
‘This can cause problems including dizziness, shortness of breath and fatigue.’