Primary aldosteronism (PA) is an ideal condition to evaluate the role of the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) in the pathogenesis of atrial fibrillation (AF). When compared with patients with essential hypertension, patients with PA treated with MR antagonists such that renin remained suppressed (as a proxy for insufficient MR blockade) had a significantly higher risk for incident AF; however, treatment of PA with MR antagonists to substantially increase renin (suggesting sufficient MR blockade), or with surgical adrenalectomy (to remove the source of aldosteronism), was associated with no significant difference in risk for developing AF. These findings add to the growing body of evidence suggesting that MR blockade may be a potential therapy to decrease the incidence of AF.
