Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

Objective:We sought to assess whether genetic risk factors for atrial fibrillation (AF) can explain cardioembolic stroke risk. Methods:We evaluated genetic correlations between a previous genetic study of AF and AF in the presence of cardioembolic stroke using genome-wide genotypes from the Stroke Genetics Network (N = 3,190 AF cases, 3,000 cardioembolic stroke cases, and 28,026 referents). We tested whether a previously validated AF polygenic risk score (PRS) associated with cardioembolic and other stroke subtypes after accounting for AF clinical risk factors. Results:We observed a strong correlation between previously reported genetic risk for AF, AF in the presence of stroke, and cardioembolic stroke (Pearson r = 0.77 and 0.76, respectively, across SNPs with p < 4.4 × 10-4 in the previous AF meta-analysis). An AF PRS, adjusted for clinical AF risk factors, was associated with cardioembolic stroke (odds ratio [OR] per SD = 1.40, p = 1.45 × 10-48), explaining ∼20% of the heritable component of cardioembolic stroke risk. The AF PRS was also associated with stroke of undetermined cause (OR per SD = 1.07, p = 0.004), but no other primary stroke subtypes (all p > 0.1). Conclusions:Genetic risk of AF is associated with cardioembolic stroke, independent of clinical risk factors. Studies are warranted to determine whether AF genetic risk can serve as a biomarker for strokes caused by AF.

Original publication

DOI

10.1212/NXG.0000000000000293

Type

Journal article

Journal

Neurology. Genetics

Publication Date

03/12/2018

Volume

4

Pages

e293 - e293

Addresses

Department of Genetics (S.L.P., P.I.W.d. B.), University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, The Netherlands; P.I.W.d.B. is now with Computational Genomics, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Boston, MA; Li Ka Shing Centre for Health Information and Discovery (S.L.P.), The Big Data Institute, University of Oxford, United Kingdom; Program in Medical and Population Genetics (S.L.P., L.-C.W., S.H.C., J.R., P.T.E., S.A.L., C.D.A.), Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA; Cardiovascular Research Center (L.-C.W., P.T.E., S.A.L.), Center for Genomic Medicine (J.R., C.D.A.), J.P. Kistler Stroke Research Center (J.R., C.D.A.), and Cardiac Arrhythmia Service (P.T.E., S.A.L.), Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston; Department of Medicine (P.F.M., B.D.M.), Program for Personalized and Genomic Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's and Boston University's Framingham Heart Study (L.T., E.J.B.); Department of Biostatistics (L.T.) and Department of Epidemiology (E.J.B.), Boston University School of Public Health, MA; Geriatrics Research and Education Clinical Center (B.D.M.), Baltimore Veterans Administration Medical Center, MD; Cardiology Preventive Medicine Sections (E.J.B.), Evans Department of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine; Department of Neurology (S.J.K.), University of Maryland School of Medicine; and Department of Neurology (S.J.K.), Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Baltimore, MD.