Diagnostic Yield of Genetic Testing in Young Patients With Atrioventricular Block of Unknown Cause

Genetic insights into cardiac conduction disorders from genome-wide association studies

BACKGROUND

Substantial data support a heritable basis for cardiac conduction disorders (CCDs), but the genetic determinants and molecular mechanisms of these arrhythmias are poorly understood, therefore, we sought to identify genetic loci associated with CCDs.

METHODS

We performed meta-analyses of genome-wide association studies to identify genetic loci for atrioventricular block (AVB), left bundle branch block (LBBB), and right bundle branch block (RBBB) from public data from the UK Biobank and FinnGen consortium. We assessed evidence supporting the potential causal effects of candidate genes by analyzing relations between associated variants and cardiac gene expression, performing transcriptome-wide analyses, and ECG-wide phenome-wide associations for each indexed SNP.

RESULTS

Analysis comprised over 700,000 individuals for each trait. We identified 10, 4 and 0 significant loci for AVB (PLEKHA3, TTN, FNDC3B, SENP2, SCN10A, RRH, PPARGC1A, PKD2L2, NKX2-5 and TBX20), LBBB (PPARGC1A, HAND1, TBX5, and ADAMTS5) and RBBB, respectively. Transcriptome-wide association analysis supported an association between reduced predicted cardiac expression of SCN10A and AVB. Phenome-wide associations identified traits with both cardiovascular and non- cardiovascular traits with indexed SNPs.

CONCLUSIONS

Our analysis highlight gene regions associated with channel function, cardiac development, sarcomere function and energy modulation as important potential effectors of CCDs susceptibility.

2025 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics: A Report of US and Global Data From the American Heart Association

BACKGROUND

The American Heart Association (AHA), in conjunction with the National Institutes of Health, annually reports the most up-to-date statistics related to heart disease, stroke, and cardiovascular risk factors, including core health behaviors (smoking, physical activity, nutrition, sleep, and obesity) and health factors (cholesterol, blood pressure, glucose control, and metabolic syndrome) that contribute to cardiovascular health. The AHA Heart Disease and Stroke Statistical Update presents the latest data on a range of major clinical heart and circulatory disease conditions (including stroke, brain health, complications of pregnancy, kidney disease, congenital heart disease, rhythm disorders, sudden cardiac arrest, subclinical atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease, cardiomyopathy, heart failure, valvular disease, venous thromboembolism, and peripheral artery disease) and the associated outcomes (including quality of care, procedures, and economic costs).

METHODS

The AHA, through its Epidemiology and Prevention Statistics Committee, continuously monitors and evaluates sources of data on heart disease and stroke in the United States and globally to provide the most current information available in the annual Statistical Update with review of published literature through the year before writing. The 2025 AHA Statistical Update is the product of a full year's worth of effort in 2024 by dedicated volunteer clinicians and scientists, committed government professionals, and AHA staff members. This year's edition includes a continued focus on health equity across several key domains and enhanced global data that reflect improved methods and incorporation of ≈3000 new data sources since last year's Statistical Update.

RESULTS

Each of the chapters in the Statistical Update focuses on a different topic related to heart disease and stroke statistics.

CONCLUSIONS

The Statistical Update represents a critical resource for the lay public, policymakers, media professionals, clinicians, health care administrators, researchers, health advocates, and others seeking the best available data on these factors and conditions.

Familial risk of sinus node dysfunction indicating pacemaker implantation: a nationwide cohort study

AIMS

We aimed to investigate the risk of sinus node dysfunction (SND) indicating cardiac pacing and mortality in first-degree relatives to patients with a pacemaker implanted on this indication and assess the effect of onset-age on disease risk.

METHODS AND RESULTS

In this nationwide register-based study, we used the Danish Civil Registration Registry to establish family structures and merged data with the Danish National Patient Registry and the Danish Pacemaker and ICD Registry containing information on all pacemakers implanted due to SND in Denmark. We followed 6 027 090 individuals born after 1954 in the period between 1982 and 2022 (180 775 041 person-years) among whom 2.477 pacemakers were implanted due to SND. The adjusted rate ratio (RR) of pacemaker-treated SND was 2.9 (2.4-3.6) for individuals having any father, mother, or sibling with a pacemaker implanted on this indication compared with the general population (derived cumulative incidence at the age of 68 years: 0.79 and 0.27%, respectively). This risk was inversely proportional to implantation age in the index person [≤60 years: RR = 5.5 (3.4-9.0)]. Overall, mortality was similar between individuals having a father, mother, or sibling with SND and the general population, but higher for relatives to index persons with an early onset [≤60 years: RR = 1.22 (1.05-1.41)].

CONCLUSION

First-degree relatives to SND patients are at increased risk of SND with risk being inversely associated with pacemaker implantation age in the index person. Mortality in first-degree relatives was comparable with the general population, although subgroup findings suggest an increased mortality among individuals with a family history of early-onset SND.

Biallelic variants in POPDC2 cause a novel autosomal recessive syndrome presenting with cardiac conduction defects and variable hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

POPDC2 encodes for the Popeye domain-containing protein 2 which has an important role in cardiac pacemaking and conduction, due in part to its cAMP-dependent binding and regulation of TREK-1 potassium channels. Loss of Popdc2 in mice results in sinus pauses and bradycardia and morpholino knockdown of popdc2 in zebrafish results in atrioventricular (AV) block. We identified bi-allelic variants in POPDC2 in 4 families that presented with a phenotypic spectrum consisting of sinus node dysfunction, AV conduction defects and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Using homology modelling we show that the identified POPDC2 variants are predicted to diminish the ability of POPDC2 to bind cAMP. In in vitro electrophysiological studies we demonstrated that, while co-expression of wild-type POPDC2 with TREK-1 increased TREK-1 current density, POPDC2 variants found in the patients failed to increase TREK-1 current density. While patient muscle biopsy did not show clear myopathic disease, it showed significant reduction of the expression of both POPDC1 and POPDC2, suggesting that stability and/or membrane trafficking of the POPDC1-POPDC2 complex is impaired by pathogenic variants in any of the two proteins. Single-cell RNA sequencing from human hearts demonstrated that co-expression of POPDC1 and 2 was most prevalent in AV node, AV node pacemaker and AV bundle cells. Sinoatrial node cells expressed POPDC2 abundantly, but expression of POPDC1 was sparse. Together, these results concur with predisposition to AV node disease in humans with loss-of-function variants in POPDC1 and POPDC2 and presence of sinus node disease in POPDC2, but not in POPDC1 related disease in human. Using population-level genetic data of more than 1 million individuals we showed that none of the familial variants were associated with clinical outcomes in heterozygous state, suggesting that heterozygous family members are unlikely to develop clinical manifestations and therefore might not necessitate clinical follow-up. Our findings provide evidence for POPDC2 as the cause of a novel Mendelian autosomal recessive cardiac syndrome, consistent with previous work showing that mice and zebrafish deficient in functional POPDC2 display sinus and AV node dysfunction.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

High prevalence and distinctive clinical features of LMNA-associated atrioventricular block in young patients

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Atrioventricular block (AVB) is a degenerative disease and more commonly encountered in elderly patients, but unusual and often of unknown etiology in young patients. This study aimed to investigate the potential contributions of genetic variations to AVB of unknown reasons in young patients.

METHODS

We enrolled 41 patients aged <55 years with high-degree AVB of unknown etiology whose clinical and genetic data were collected.

RESULTS

Genetic variants were identified in 20 (20/41, 48.8%) patients, 11 (11/20, 55%) of whom had LMNA variants including 3 pathogenic (c.961C > T, c.936+1G > T and c.646C > T), 4 likely pathogenic (c.1489-1G > C, c.265C > A, c.1609-2A > G and c.1129C > T) and 3 of uncertain significance (c.1158-3C > G, c.776A > G and c.674G > T). Compared to those without LMNA variants, patients with LMNA variants demonstrated a later age at onset of AVB (41.45 ± 9.89 years vs 32.93 ± 12.07 years, P = .043), had more prevalent family history of cardiac events (81.8% vs 16.7%, P < .000), suffered more frequently atrial (81.8% vs 10.0%, P < .000) and ventricular (72.7% vs 10.0%, P < .000) arrhythmias, and were more significantly associated with enlargement of left atrium (39.91 ± 7.83 mm vs 34.30 ± 7.54 mm, P = .043) and left ventricle (53.27 ± 8.53 mm vs 47.77 ± 6.66 mm, P = .036).

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings provide insights into the genetic etiology of AVB in young patients. LMNA variants are predominant in genotype positive patients and relevant to distinctive phenotypic properties.

The Heart Block Hat-Trick: A Case of Alternating First-, Second-, and Third-Degree Heart Blocks

Idiopathic third-degree atrioventricular (AV) block in a relatively young patient is an uncommon phenomenon. Even more rare is when the third-degree heart block is alternating with the first- and second-degree AV blocks. In this case, we present a 39-year-old man with varying degrees of AV block, alternating the third-degree, second-degree, and first-degree AV blocks. The patient underwent an extensive workup for underlying etiologies, and results were inconclusive. A pacemaker was implanted and set for physiologic pacing via left bundle branch area pacing (LBBAP). This case will discuss potential genetic abnormalities associated with AV block and highlight LBBAP as an emerging technique for physiologic pacing.