2/28/2010 PERMALINK
Newly identified gene keeps your heart from getting out of step. Atrial fibrillation is a chronic irregularity of heartbeat. Although the condition is not acutely life-threatening, it does increase the risk of developing more serious illnesses, such as cardiac insufficiency, stroke and dementia. An international team of researchers now reports the identification of a new gene locus that has a significant influence on risk for atrial fibrillation. The product of this gene is the so-called potassium channel, which coordinates the electrical impulses that control heartbeat.