Figure 2. AF-selective Pharmacology and Atrial-specific K currents.
(a) To maximize efficacy and safety an AF-selective drug should exhibit potent effects in atrial tissue at high rates (during fibrillation) without impacting ventricular AP and nSR. To achieve this, drugs could target channels that are predominantly expressed in atria vs. ventricles, shown in (b), or take advantage of atrioventricular differences in membrane potential and/or ion channel gating, as discussed here for Na channel blockers. (b) Ventricular (left) and atrial (right) APs and K currents underlying repolarization.