ThroMboembolic risk Associated To High atrial fibrillAtion risk: prospective study (MATHIAS project)

Atrial fibrillation (AF) and Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events (MACE) are two prevalent conditions among the elderly population. The prevalence of AF is projected to increase by 2.5-fold over the next 50 years, and it quintuples the risk of MACE. Consequently, AF will become a major health and economic burden on the European population. A recent study, focusing on risk stratification, revealed that the fourth quartile of the risk prediction model encompassed 53.8% of all AF cases and 69.5% of strokes in men; and captured 84.2% of AF cases and 85.4% of strokes in women, along with 77.4% of cases of cognitive impairment. However, it remains unestablished whether patients identified as high-risk for AF development will benefit from targeted screening and early interventions to reduce MACE incidence. Emerging evidence suggests that an intrinsically prothrombotic atrial substrate may precede AF and lead to thromboembolic events independent of the arrhythmia, allowing for a window of intervention before arrhythmia and ischemic stroke.

We propose the establishment of a CONSORTIUM, under the PRECISEU project, aimed at connecting health innovation ecosystems across Europe to foster and accelerate the implementation of personalized medicine. This initiative targets a challenge of substantial social, clinical, and individual significance, thereby rendering the proposed intervention both highly relevant and timely.