Lindsey A. Rosman, PhD, an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology, recently published a study in the European Heart Journal identifying atrial fibrillation density as a biomarker for ischaemic stroke risk prediction.
Atrial fibrillation is commonly classified by episode duration and cumulative burden, but Rosman’s research found that these methods fail to capture the temporal distribution of episodes, which the study terms atrial fibrillation density.
Analyzing data from more than 12,000 patients across two United States cohorts remotely monitored by the Veterans Health Administration and UNC between January 2010 and May 2025, the study found that patients with higher atrial fibrillation density faced significantly greater stroke risk. The dose-response relationship was consistent across device types, comorbidities, age and anticoagulation status.
Her findings suggest that atrial fibrillation density could enable more precise stroke risk assessment and more personalized prevention strategies, improving upon existing models that rely on atrial fibrillation burden alone.
Dr. Rosman also serves as the Co-Director of the Cardiovascular Device and Data Science Lab and as the Director of the Cardiovascular Behavioral Medicine Service.