Atrial fibrillation—often called “AFib”—is a heart condition where the heart beats in an irregular or very fast way. This can be dangerous because it may cause blood to pool in the heart, leading to blood clots.
These clots can travel to the brain and cause a stroke, making AFib a serious condition. In Europe, around 10 million people have AFib, including about 700,000 in Spain alone.
Until now, doctors have mainly looked at how long someone has had AFib to understand how serious it is. But that doesn’t always give a clear picture.
It’s like knowing a pot has been on the stove for an hour, but not knowing how hot the water is. A team of researchers has found a better way to understand what’s really happening in the heart—and this could mean earlier, safer, and more effective treatment.
Led by heart specialist Dr. David Filgueiras, the research team worked for 10 years to develop a way to measure both the heart’s electrical activity and its ability to pump blood—at the same time and without needing to touch the heart. Before this breakthrough, doctors could only look at these two things separately.
To test their new method, the researchers studied 83 people who had recently started showing signs of AFib. What they found was surprising: in many of these patients, the heart’s electrical signals and pumping action didn’t line up properly.
It’s like a drummer playing at one speed while the dancer tries to keep up at another. This mismatch—especially in the early days of AFib—can be a warning sign that the condition is getting worse.
That’s what makes this discovery so important. By spotting this early mismatch, doctors can now get a much better idea of how serious a person’s AFib is and how quickly it might progress. And because the method is non-invasive (meaning there’s no need to go inside the body), it’s safer and easier for patients.
Dr. Filgueiras explained that this new approach gives doctors a clearer and more detailed look at what’s happening inside the heart. Other experts agree.
Dr. Julián Pérez Villacastín, another heart specialist, believes this could lead to more personalized treatment plans for patients. That means doctors could adjust care based on how each person’s heart is behaving, rather than using a one-size-fits-all approach.
This research, published in Nature Communications, marks a major step forward in how AFib is diagnosed and managed. With better tools to catch changes early, doctors can help prevent more serious problems like strokes and offer better care to millions of people living with AFib.
If you’re interested in heart health, you might want to explore new studies showing how a simple blood test could help lower the number of deaths from heart disease, or how certain hormones may reduce inflammation and irregular heartbeat.
Other research has found that magnesium may help keep your heart rhythm steady, and drinking coffee in moderation might even help prevent heart disease and stroke.
This new breakthrough could change how we care for AFib—making treatments smarter, earlier, and more personal.
If you care about heart health, please read studies that vitamin K helps cut heart disease risk by a third, and a year of exercise reversed worrisome heart failure.
For more health information, please see recent studies about supplements that could help prevent heart disease, stroke, and results showing this food ingredient may strongly increase heart disease death risk.
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