How obesity can cause irregular heartbeats (atrial fibrillation)
Official title: Mechanisms of Obesity-induced Atrial Fibrillation
Funded at Weill Medical Coll of Cornell Univ · NIH-11262207 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This work looks at whether restoring a heart chemical called NAD+ and correcting a cell stress pathway (ATF6) can prevent irregular heart rhythms linked to obesity and type 2 diabetes.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Weill Medical Coll of Cornell Univ NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (New York, United States) |
| Project start | January 22, 2025 |
| Project end | November 30, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $730,588 |
| NIH project number | 5R01HL177651-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11262207 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults with obesity, especially those with type 2 diabetes or a history of atrial fibrillation, would be the most relevant patient group for future translation or participation.
✕Less likely to help
People without obesity or metabolic disease, and children, are unlikely to receive direct benefit from this specific line of work in the near term.
What this research studies
Researchers are using a new mouse model that develops atrial fibrillation when animals become obese to study what goes wrong inside heart cells. They will raise heart NAD+ levels and manipulate the ATF6 endoplasmic reticulum stress pathway to see how those changes affect irregular heart rhythms. The team will record heart rhythms and study molecular markers in heart and fat tissue to connect metabolic changes to atrial fibrillation. Results are meant to point toward therapies that could protect the heart in people with obesity and diabetes and inform future human trials.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to new ways to prevent or reduce obesity-related atrial fibrillation by targeting NAD+ or the ATF6 stress pathway.
How similar studies have gone: Preclinical work, including the investigator's mouse studies, has shown that correcting NAD+ can reduce obesity-related atrial fibrillation, but human benefit has not yet been proven.
Where this research is happening
-
Weill Medical Coll of Cornell Univ
New York, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Lo, James C — Weill Medical Coll of Cornell Univ
- Study coordinator: Lo, James C
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.