Fish oil for atrial fibrillation prevention: Can we intervene soon enough to make a difference?

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The atria have dual physiologic roles, serving both to facilitate ventricular filling and acting as sensors for blood volume, releasing natriuretic peptides that promote renal sodium excretion when filling pressures are elevated. While the atria typically operate with low diastolic pressures, they adapt rapidly to increased pressures with the development of chamber thinning and dilatation. Dilatation is limited by fibroblast proliferation and extracellular matrix accumulation that increases atrial stiffness.