Taller people face a greater risk of developing an irregular heartbeat, scientists claim
- Researchers looked at the DNA of more than one million people
- Gene variants linked with height were also strongly linked with atrial fibrillation
- For every extra one-inch in height, the risk rose by about three per cent
It may be considered a blessing to be born with the ‘tall gene’ – but the same DNA could also raise the risk of an irregular heartbeat.
Scientists who looked at the DNA of 1.2million people discovered taller people were more likely to have atrial fibrillation.
For every extra inch in height, the risk jumped by three per cent – compared to those of an average of 5ft 7in (170cm).
University of Pennsylvania scientists now believe genes are to blame and called for doctors to screen tall people for the killer condition.
Other studies, however, have suggested taller people are at a greater risk because they have ‘a larger area of the heart surface to go wrong’.
Scientists who looked at the DNA of 1.2million people discovered taller people were more likely to have atrial fibrillation
Atrial fibrillation, an abnormally fast heart rhythm, is known to increase the odds of having a stroke by five-fold.
More than 33million people across the world have the condition, including around one million in the UK and 2.7million in the US.
Age and high blood pressure, which also strikes millions of people, are thought to be the major driving factors behind atrial fibrillation.
The new study, to be presented at a cardiology conference in Philadelphia, adds to the evidence that being tall may also raise the risk.
Dr Michael Levin and team’s research, based on three sets of data, is one of the first to suggest being tall can cause atrial fibrillation.
Results – yet to be peer-reviewed – showed genetic variants associated with being tall were also linked to the irregular heartbeat.
The findings remained true even after taking into account other factors which play a role in the development of the condition, such as high blood pressure.
The first set of data used was from a project comprising more than 700,000 people that identified genetic variants responsible for height.
Taller are more genetically at risk of an irregular heartbeat, scientists claim. Pictured, an ECG is used to measures heart activity to diagnose atrial fibrillation (stock)
Data collected from 500,000 people in a study to spot DNA strands linked to atrial fibrillation was also used in the analysis.
‘Our findings suggest it may be beneficial to incorporate height into risk-prediction tools for AFib,’ said Dr Levin.
‘Our findings show that a certain group of patients — specifically, very tall patients —may benefit from screening.’ It is not currently recommended in the UK or US.
The third set of data, which proved the link between being tall and atrial fibrillation, involved 7,000 participants.
Dr Levin and colleagues will present their study at the American Heart Association’s 2019 Scientific Sessions.
England rugby legend Bill Beaumont was told he had the killer heart problem when he went for a routine knee op, it was reported in 2009.
Dr Adam Fitzpatrick, a consultant cardiologist at the Manchester Royal Infirmary, said his well-built 6ft 3in frame might also have been to blame.
‘This is because they have a larger area of the heart surface to go wrong,’ he told the Daily Mail’s David Hurst.