Atrial fibrillation is an irregular heartbeat that can lead to blood clots, stroke and heart failure.
Annika Rosengren, professor of internal medicine at Sahlegrenska Academy investigated the effects of body size on atrial fibrillation risk in women.
The study examined 1,522,358 women who had their first pregnancy at an average age of 28 years. Clinical data on height, age, pregnancy, history of diabetes, high blood pressure and smoking were considered during the study.
During follow-up, 7,000 women were hospitalized with atrial fibrillation, their average age was 49, the researchers calculated the women’s body surface area BSA in square meters.
The women were divided into four groups based on their BSA and discovered that bigger women, older women and those with bigger atrium are at risk of atrial fibrillation.