title: Impact of sex and ethnicity on arrhythmic risk.
abstract: Substantial differences in the risk of common arrhythmia syndromes exist between men and women, as well as in varying ethnic/racial groups. For example, despite an overall lower risk of sudden death and atrial fibrillation in women compared with men, women have longer QT intervals and a higher risk of torsades de pointes due to antiarrhythmic drugs and worse outcomes associated with atrial fibrillation. An ethnicity-related paradox in atrial fibrillation epidemiology is apparent; despite a higher prevalence of medical comorbidities such as hypertension, diabetes, and prolonged PR interval, blacks, Hispanics, and Asians have a lower risk of atrial fibrillation than whites. In this promising era of genomic medicine, an improved understanding of epidemiology and phenotype holds the potential for revealing novel therapeutic targets and preventing disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, University of Washington, 1959 NE Pacific Street, Box 356422, Seattle, WA, 98122, USA.
authors.forename: Santosh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rane
authors.forename: Kristen K
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Patton
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000889:Anti-Arrhythmia Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001145:Arrhythmias, Cardiac / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D001213:Asian / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
chemical_list: D000889:Anti-Arrhythmia Agents