Gastroesophageal Reflux and Its Association With Atrial Fibrillation: A Traditional Review

Gastroesophageal reflux disease may causally associate with the increased atrial fibrillation risk: evidence from two-sample Mendelian randomization analyses

Background

The risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) is increased in individuals with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), according to observational research. The causal significance of this association is still unclear. This study sought to assess GERD's role as a potential contributing factor in AF.

Methods

With the use of a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) technique, we assessed the causal relationship between GERD and AF. The association of genetic variants with GERD was examined using data from a recent genome-wide association study (GWAS) that included 602,604 people. Data on the association between genetic variations and AF was obtained from a second GWAS with 1,030,836 participants. The effect sizes were examined based on the inverse-variance weighted method. Additional statistical techniques, including MR-Egger, simple mode, weighted mode, MR Pleiotropy Residual Sum, outlier, and weighted median were used in the sensitivity analysis.

Results

MR analyses in inverse-variance weighted models, using 76 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) as markers, revealed a relationship between genetically predicted GERD and a greater AF incidence [odds ratio (OR): 1.165, 95% CI 1.102-1.231; P = 7.637 × 10-8]. According to MR-Egger, there was no evidence of gene pleiotropy that could be found (intercept = 0.003, P = 0.581). The findings of the sensitivity study, which used several MR methods, were found to be reliable.

Conclusion

The MR analysis revealed a correlation between GERD and increased AF incidence, supporting the idea that treating patients with GERD as early as possible might reduce their chance of developing AF.

The cardiovascular effects of large hiatal hernias: a narrative review of cases and studies

Hiatal hernia (HH) is a common disease in the general population. It is often asymptomatic, but if it does present clinical manifestations, these are usually gastrointestinal. Gastroesophageal reflux is the main symptom that accompanies it. Depending on the severity of the hernia, it is classified into several subtypes from I-IV. Especially, IV type (giant HH) can lead to various cardiopulmonary symptoms with several degrees of severity. It is necessary to keep this possibility in mind among the various differential diagnoses that may occur in this clinical setting. The current paper aims to review the literature on classic and novel information on the HH - cardiovascular system relationship. Epidemiological data, physiological aspects of the heart compressed by HH, cardiovascular symptoms, electrocardiographic changes, echocardiographic alterations and clinical implications are discussed.

Causal associations between gastroesophageal reflux disease and essential hypertension: A bidirectional Mendelian randomization study

BACKGROUND

Clinical studies have reported that patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) have a higher prevalence of hypertension.

AIM

To performed a bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis to investigate the causal link between GERD and essential hypertension.

METHODS

Eligible single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were selected, and weighted median, inverse variance weighted (IVW) as well as MR egger (MR-Egger) regression were used to examine the potential causal association between GERD and hypertension. The MR-Pleiotropy RESidual Sum and Outlier analysis was used to detect and attempt to reduce horizontal pleiotropy by removing outliers SNPs. The MR-Egger intercept test, Cochran's Q test and "leave-one-out" sensitivity analysis were performed to evaluate the horizontal pleiotropy, heterogeneities, and stability of single instrumental variable.

RESULTS

IVW analysis exhibited an increased risk of hypertension (OR = 1.46, 95%CI: 1.33-1.59, P = 2.14E-16) in GERD patients. And the same result was obtained in replication practice (OR = 1.002, 95%CI: 1.0008-1.003, P = 0.000498). Meanwhile, the IVW analysis showed an increased risk of systolic blood pressure (β = 0.78, 95%CI: 0.11-1.44, P = 0.021) and hypertensive heart disease (OR = 1.68, 95%CI: 1.36-2.08, P = 0.0000016) in GERD patients. Moreover, we found an decreased risk of Barrett's esophagus (OR = 0.91, 95%CI: 0.83-0.99, P = 0.043) in essential hypertension patients.

CONCLUSION

We found that GERD would increase the risk of essential hypertension, which provided a novel prevent and therapeutic perspectives of essential hypertension.

Combined GWAS and single cell transcriptomics uncover the underlying genes and cell types in disorders of gut-brain interaction

Disorders of gut-brain interaction (DGBIs), formerly known as functional gastrointestinal disorders, are extremely common and historically difficult to manage. This is largely because their cellular and molecular mechanisms have remained poorly understood and understudied. One approach to unravel the molecular underpinnings of complex disorders such as DGBIs is performing genome wide association studies (GWASs). However, due to the heterogenous and non-specific nature of GI symptoms, it has been difficult to accurately classify cases and controls. Thus, to perform reliable studies, we need to access large patient populations which has been difficult to date. Here, we leveraged the UK Biobank (UKBB) database, containing genetic and medical record data of over half a million individuals, to perform GWAS for five DGBI categories: functional chest pain, functional diarrhea, functional dyspepsia, functional dysphagia, and functional fecal incontinence. By applying strict inclusion and exclusion criteria, we resolved patient populations and identified genes significantly associated with each condition. Leveraging multiple human single-cell RNA-sequencing datasets, we found that the disease associated genes were highly expressed in enteric neurons, which innervate and control GI functions. Further expression and association testing-based analyses revealed specific enteric neuron subtypes consistently linked with each DGBI. Furthermore, protein-protein interaction analysis of each of the disease associated genes revealed protein networks specific to each DGBI, including hedgehog signaling for functional chest pain and neuronal function and neurotransmission for functional diarrhea and functional dyspepsia. Finally, through retrospective medical record analysis we found that drugs that inhibit these networks are associated with an increased disease risk, including serine/threonine kinase 32B drugs for functional chest pain, solute carrier organic anion transporter family member 4C1, mitogen-activated protein kinase 6, and dual serine/threonine and tyrosine protein kinase drugs for functional dyspepsia, and serotonin transporter drugs for functional diarrhea. This study presents a robust strategy for uncovering the tissues, cell types, and genes involved in DGBIs, presenting novel predictions of the mechanisms underlying these historically intractable and poorly understood diseases.

Recurrent Episodes of Paroxysmal Supraventricular Tachycardia Triggered by Dyspepsia: A Rare Case of Gastrocardiac Syndrome

Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) refers to the narrow complex tachycardia originating at or above the bundle of His. Several risk factors are associated with the development and recurrence of SVT, but its association with gastric problems, especially dyspepsia, is relatively rare. We report the case of a 54-year-old female who presented to the emergency room (ER) with palpitations, which were diagnosed as an episode of paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia (PSVT). She had a history of PSVT in the past, along with hypertension and dyspepsia. After thorough history and examination, dyspepsia was identified as the common trigger of her PSVT episodes, pointing towards the likelihood of gastrocardiac symptoms. Therefore, an appropriate regimen of beta-blockers, proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), and anti-foaming agents (simethicone) was prescribed to manage her symptoms with the plan to perform a catheter ablation later.