The relationship between blood pressure and risk of atrial fibrillation: a Mendelian randomization study

Aims Observational studies suggest elevated blood pressure (BP) as the leading risk factor for incident atrial fibrillation (AF), but whether this relationship is causal remains unknown. In this study, we used Mendelian randomization (MR) to investigate the potential causal association of BP levels with the risk of developing AF. Methods and results Genetic variants associated with the BP traits were retrieved from the International Consortium of Blood Pressure-Genome Wide Association Studies (N = 299 024). From 901 reported variants, 894 were assessed in a dedicated Genome-Wide Association Study of AF genetics, including >1 000 000 subjects of European ancestry. We used two-sample MR analyses to examine the potential causal association of systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP) as well as of pulse pressure (PP) with AF. MR analysis identified a potentially causal association between AF and SBP [odds ratio (OR): 1.018 per 1 mmHg increase, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.012-1.024, P < 0.001], DBP (OR: 1.026, 95% CI: 1.016-1.035, P < 0.001), and PP (OR: 1.014, 95% CI: 1.001-1.028, P = 0.033). These findings were robust in sensitivity analyses, including the MR-Egger method and the MR pleiotropy residual sum and outlier test (MR-PRESSO). The causal relationship of BP and AF did not change when single-nucleotide polymorphisms associated with possible confounders (i.e. coronary artery disease and obesity) of the causal relationship were excluded. Conclusions The association between increased BP levels and the risk of AF is likely causal and applies for different BP indices. Independently from other risk factors, optimal BP control might represent an important therapeutic target for AF prevention in the general population.

Automated summary

Observational studies have shown that elevated blood pressure is the leading risk factor for atrial fibrillation, and this study used Mendelian randomization to investigate the potential causal relationship between blood pressure levels and AF risk. The results suggest that there is a likely causal association between increased blood pressure levels and the risk of developing AF, and optimal blood pressure control might be an important therapeutic target for AF prevention independently from other risk factors.