Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41331342›Full record

ArticleCommunications medicine2025

The effect of clinically relevant changes in extracellular electrolyte concentrations on human atrial arrhythmias.

Cesare Corrado, Caroline H Roney, Sanjiv M Narayan, Wayne R Giles, Steven A Niederer

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Communications medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Cesare CorradoNational Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, UK. c.corrado@imperial.ac.uk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8914-8735
Caroline H RoneySchool of Engineering and Materials Science, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.
Sanjiv M NarayanDepartment of Medicine and Cardiovascular Institute, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7552-5053
Wayne R GilesCumming School of Medicine, Department of Physiology & Pharmacology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada.
Steven A NiedererNational Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, UK.

Funding

The Dynamics of Human Atrial FibrillationR01HL083359 · NHLBI · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · PI Sanjiv M Narayan · 2008 to 2026
$7.9M
Machine Learning in Atrial FibrillationR01HL149134 · NHLBI · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI NARAYAN, SANJIV M · 2020 to 2024
$3.8M
NHLBI NIH HHS R01 HL083359NHLBI NIH HHS R01 HL149134RCUK | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) EP/W000091/2Wellcome Trust
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPatients with recent-onset atrial fibrillation (AF) frequently present with plasma electrolyte imbalances. Low plasma concentrations of potassium (hypokalaemia), and more recently low plasma concentrations of sodium (hyponatremia), have both been shown to contribute to a pro-arrhythmic substrate and may affect the success of restoring the normal rhythm (cardioversion). However, the mechanistic effects of these electrolyte alterations on atrial electrophysiology remain incompletely understood. This study aims to investigate how clinically relevant variations in extracellular electrolyte concentrations influence human atrial electrical activity and arrhythmia initiation.

methodsWe applied our cardiac digital twin methodology to a cohort of 100 atrial fibrillation patients (43 paroxysmal, 41 persistent, 16 long-standing persistent). For each patient-specific model, we simulated sinus rhythm and AF induction under baseline and 30 distinct combinations of extracellular potassium, sodium and calcium concentrations. Global sensitivity analysis and machine learning were used to quantify how these electrolyte alterations affect key electrophysiological markers, including action potential duration, resting membrane potential (RMP), and conduction velocity (CV), and the induction and maintenance of AF.

resultsHere we show that our computational framework accurately replicates the experimentally observed sensitivity of human atrial electrophysiology to electrolyte variations. Hyponatremia significantly modifies the action potential waveform, thereby promoting AF sustainability, while hypokalaemia predominantly alters the RMP and thus CV, and only moderately increases AF inducibility.

conclusionsThe combination of clinical data sets and multiscale computational analyses yields insights into cellular and tissue-level mechanisms for AF as well as suggesting personalised approaches for management and treatment.

Identifiers

PMID41331342
PMCPMC12770435

What Socratic holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.