Jonathan W. Dukes, M.D., and Gregory M. Marcus, M.D., commented: These findings "add to the growing recognition of important bidirectional relationships between AF and other cardiovascular comorbidities," with AF appearing to lead to kidney disease, heart failure, and now MI, said Dr. Jonathan W. Dukes and Dr. Gregory M. Marcus.
They do not suggest a change in contemporary AF treatment, but rather a "change in management may be most applicable to patients with MI. For example, we now know that a large proportion of strokes are due to subclinical AF. Perhaps the same is true for MI?"
"Our regular clinical practice must extend beyond the common question, ‘Why does this patient have AF?’ to ‘Could this current problem have occurred due to AF?’ " they said.
Jonathan W. Dukes, M.D., and Gregory M. Marcus, M.D., are in the division of cardiology and section of electrophysiology at the University of California, San Francisco. They reported no financial conflicts of interest. These remarks were taken from their editorial accompanying Dr. Soliman’s report (JAMA Intern. Med. 2013 Nov. 4 [doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.11392]).
