Falk R H
Boston Medical Center, Massachusetts 02118, USA.
Am J Cardiol. 1998 Oct 16;82(8A):10N-17N. doi: 10.1016/s0002-9149(98)00735-8.
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is an arrhythmia associated with a wide variety of cardiac conditions, and it carries a risk of thromboembolism which varies with the underlying disease. The prevalence of AF increases markedly with age, and a review of histopathologic studies reveals that normal aging produces histologic changes in atrial conduction that may lead to the development of atrial arrhythmias. The diverse pathologic causes of AF also result in histologic abnormalities, and an examination of the relation of the etiology of the arrhythmia to pathologic changes suggests a possible reason for the varying risk of thrombus formation. The interaction between the histologic abnormalities and the presence of triggers of AF may also play an important role in the onset and maintenance of this common condition.
心房颤动（AF）是一种与多种心脏疾病相关的心律失常，并且它具有血栓栓塞风险，该风险因基础疾病而异。AF的患病率随年龄显著增加，对组织病理学研究的回顾显示，正常衰老会导致心房传导出现组织学变化，这可能会引发房性心律失常。AF的多种病理原因也会导致组织学异常，对心律失常病因与病理变化之间关系的研究表明了血栓形成风险各异的一个可能原因。组织学异常与AF触发因素的存在之间的相互作用在这种常见病症的发生和维持中也可能起重要作用。
