Researchers seek to understand AFib risk in Black adults

Resting heart rate was associated with an increased risk of new-onset AFib for Black adults, according to a recent study published in JAMA Network Open. Researchers conducted a longitudinal analysis—a median of 14 years follow up—of the Jackson Heart Study, which is the largest prospective cohort study of cardiovascular disease in Black adults.  

Of the 4,965 Black adults included in the study cohort, researchers found that every 10 beats per minute increase in resting heart rate was associated with a 9% increased risk of AFib. 

Authors said the findings suggest that resting heart rate is associated with new-onset AFib for Black individuals, independently of other established risk factors, but “additional research is needed to determine whether [resting heart rate] can improve the selection of individuals for [AFib] screening, which may help to mitigate long-standing health disparities,” they wrote.  

AFib, the most common sustained cardiac arrhythmia, can lead to heart failure, stroke, dementia, and death. Black adults with AFib tend to have higher rates of ischemic stroke and AFib-related complications compared with white adults, even though large population-based studies have reported that the incidence of clinically recognized AFib is lower in Black adults than white adults.