Linking atrial fibrillation with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: potential common therapeutic targets

Abstract

// Ya-Hui Ding 1, 3 , Yuan Ma 1, 3 , Lin-Yan Qian 1, 3 , Qiang Xu 1, 3 , Li-Hong Wang 1, 3 , Dong-Sheng Huang 2, 3 and Hai Zou 1, 3 1 Department of Cardiology, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, Hangzhou 310014, China 2 Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, Hangzhou 310014, China 3 People’s Hospital of Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou 310014, Zhejiang Province, China Correspondence to: Qiang Xu, email: xuqiang@zjheart.com Li-Hong Wang, email: wanglh@zjheart.com Dong-Sheng Huang, email: dshuang@zju.edu.cn Hai Zou, email: haire1993@163.com Keywords: non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, atrial fibrillation, adiponectin, insulin resistance, renin angiotensin aldosterone system Received: May 23, 2017      Accepted: July 13, 2017      Published: July 24, 2017 ABSTRACT Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and atrial fibrillation (AF) are common chronic non-infectious diseases with rising incidences. NAFLD is an independent risk factor for the onset of AF, after adjusting potentially related factors. The pathogenesis of these diseases share several mechanisms including reduced adiponectin level, insulin resistance, and renin angiotensin aldosterone system (RAAS) activation, in addition to activation of common disease pathways that promote inflammation, oxidative stress, and fibrosis. Furthermore, statins and RAAS blockers exert therapeutic effects concurrently on NAFLD and AF. The common pathogenesis of NAFLD and AF may serve as a potential therapeutic target in the future.