In this video interview, Emelia Benjamin, MD, professor of medicine and epidemiology at Boston University and senior investigator for the Framingham Heart Study, discusses atrial fibrillation (afib) risk factors and afib prevention, including the role of family history.
She talks about the Framingham Risk Prediction Tool for Atrial Fibrillation and discusses well-known risks, such as advancing age, gender (men tend to have more atrial fibrillation than women), high blood pressure, valvular heart disease, and heart failure. She also mentions lesser-known risks, such as longer PR-interval (a measurement seen on an EKG), C-reactive protein, and BNP.
Dr. Benjamin also talks about the contribution of family history to common everyday atrial fibrillation, and notes that it can result in a doubling of the risk, and in the case of lone atrial fibrillation (younger patients with no underlying heart disease), a tripling of the risk.
Watch the video and read the transcript at:
Interview with Dr. Emelia Benjamin on Framingham Risk Prediction Tool for Atrial Fibrillation