Atrial fibrillation and bronchial asthma: two conditions linked by systemic inflammation

Abstract

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is known to be an arrhythmia characterized by uncoordinated atrial
electrical activation. It is the most common sustained arrhythmia worldwide and is associated
with significant morbidity and mortality. AF can range from asymptomatic (subclinical) to manifest
episodes of arrhythmias (paroxysms) to permanent (formerly called chronic). Sometimes
its first clinical manifestation can be a stroke (cerebrovascular event or cerebrovascular accident).
Therefore, it is important to identify patients with a higher propensity to develop AF.
The association between AF and asthma is bidirectional. On the one hand, evidence suggests
that AF shares a background of systemic inflammation with asthma. Asthma, being a systemic
inflammatory disease, could be affecting the atria and thus favoring the development of atrial
cardiomyopathy, which would predispose to the onset of AF.