Whites Likelier To Have Heart Condition

Caucasians are significantly more likely to suffer from the cardiac condition of atrial fibrillation than other ethnic groups, according to a new study by UC San Francisco researchers.

UCSF physicians and scientists combed the medical records of more than 14 million Californians who visited a hospital emergency room, were inpatients, or received some form of outpatient services between 2005 and 2009.

Latinos and Asian-Americans had a 22% lower risk for atrial fibrillation compared to caucasians. African-Americans had a 16% lower risk when compared to whites.

“We found that consistently, every other race had a statistically significant lower risk of atrial fibrillation compared to whites,” said Gregory Marcus, M.D., a UCSF associate professor of medicine who specializes in electrophysiology and was senior author for the study. “So this suggests that white race is itself a risk factor for atrial fibrillation.”

Marcus noted that the study ruled out any direct links to other potential cardiac conditions such as high blood pressure or already existing heart disease.

“There may be a gene...in European ancestry or some important behavior or environmental exposure in whites,” Marcus said.

However, the study's authors said they have to find a direct cause for an increased incidence of the condition in whites, and that further study was required.

The study's results were recently published in the online edition of the journal Circulation.