title: Novel therapeutic targets in the management of atrial fibrillation.
abstract: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia, contributing to increased morbidity and reduced survival through its associations with stroke and heart failure. AF contributes to a four- to fivefold increase in the risk of stroke in the general population and is responsible for 10-15 % of all ischemic strokes. Diagnosis and treatment of AF require considerable health care resources. Current therapies to restore sinus rhythm in AF are suboptimal and are limited either by their pro-arrhythmic effects or by their procedure-related complications. These limitations have necessitated identification of newer therapeutic targets to expand the treatment options. There has been a considerable amount of research interest in investigating the mechanisms of initiation and propagation of AF. Despite extensive research focused on the pathogenesis of AF, a thorough understanding of various pathways mediating initiation and propagation of AF still remains limited. Research efforts focused on the identification of these pathways and molecular mediators have generated a great degree of interest for developing more targeted therapies. This review discusses the potential therapeutic targets and the results from experimental and clinical research investigating these targets.
authors.affiliation: Division of Electrophysiology, Cardiac Arrhythmia Service, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, 02114, USA.
authors.forename: Abhishek
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Maan
authors.forename: Moussa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mansour
authors.forename: David D
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: McManus
authors.forename: Vickas V
authors.initials: VV
authors.lastname: Patel
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Jeremy N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Ruskin
authors.forename: E Kevin
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Heist
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000889:Anti-Arrhythmia Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D015195:Drug Design; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D058990:Molecular Targeted Therapy; D020521:Stroke / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control
chemical_list: D000889:Anti-Arrhythmia Agents