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Article: GENE LINKED TO IRREGULAR HEARTBEAT FOUND.(L.A. LIFE)(Statistical Data Included)
- Article from:
- Daily News (Los Angeles, CA)
- Article date:
- March 31, 1997
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 Daily News. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Angela La Voie Medical Tribune News Service
Researchers have identified the location of a gene that they believe can cause the most common type of irregular heartbeat.
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is an electrical disturbance of the heart that affects more than 2 million Americans and accounts for one-third of strokes in people ages 65 and over. AF can prevent blood from being pumped completely out of the two upper chambers of the heart, allowing the blood to pool and clot. These clots can travel to an artery leading to or in the brain, blocking blood flow and causing a stroke.
While AF often occurs in patients with heart conditions or other ...