Table 2.

Potential areas for clinical application of genetic discoveries in atrial fibrillation (AF) management

Area	Example	Potential utility	Limitations
Risk prediction	Predict new-onset AF or AF-related morbidity (stroke, heart failure, mortality risk)	Benchmark for clinical trial development	Absence of known preventive strategies for AF
		Facilitate AF and clinical outcome prevention	Cohorts for genetic risk score derivation predominantly of European ancestry
			Small relative risks of discovered variants
			Complexity of incorporation into clinical practice
			Cost
			Untested
	Predict AF progression	Early antiarrhythmic or ablation intervention	Unclear relations between AF progression and morbidity and mortality
			Untested
Patient management	Pharmacogenetics	Maximize efficacy, minimize adverse effects	Development of novel agents with wide therapeutic margins
		Thromboembolism prophylaxis	Ablation and mechanical interventions as alternatives
		Antiarrhythmic therapy	Complexity of incorporation into clinical practice
			Cost
			Untested