Angiotensinogen and ACE gene polymorphisms and risk of atrial fibrillation in the general population

Objectives The renin-angiotensin system may play a role in the pathogenesis of atrial fibrillation, and renin-angiotensin system blockers reduce the risk of atrial fibrillation. We hypothesized that polymorphisms in the angiotensinogen and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) genes encoding proteins in this system predict risk of atrial fibrillation. Methods and results We genotyped 9235 individuals from the Danish general population, The Copenhagen City Heart Study, for the a-20c, g-6a, T174M, and M235T polymorphisms in the angiotensinogen gene and the insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism in the ACE gene; rare allele frequencies were 0.16, 0.40, 0.12, 0.41, and 0.49, respectively. Participants had sinus rhythm at inclusion. During 26 years of follow-up, 968 individuals developed atrial fibrillation. Multifactorially adjusted hazard ratios for atrial fibrillation for a-20c ac and cc versus aa genotype were 1.1 (95% confidence interval: 1.0-1.3; P=0.05) and 1.5(1.1-2.1; P=0.01). Compared with double noncarriers (angiotensinogen -20aa and ACE II), double heterozygotes (ac-I/D genotype), and double homozygotes (cc-DD) had hazard ratios for atrial fibrillation of 1.2(0.9-1.6; P=0.06) and 2.4(1.4-4.1; P=0.001). a-20c cc homozygotes above 70 years of age who were overweight severely hypertensive, and had heart failure, had an absolute 10-year risk of atrial fibrillation of 61%. Conclusion Angiotensinogen a-20c genotype alone and in combination with ACE I/D genotype predicts an increased risk of atrial fibrillation. Therefore, genetic variation in the renin-angiotensin system may influence effect of renin-angiotensin system blockers on atrial fibrillation.