Johansen MC, Mosley TH, Knopman DS, et al. - Given that atrial fibrillation (AF) represents a risk factor for cognitive decline, likely from silent brain infarction, researchers investigated whether AF or atrial cardiopathy also acts on Alzheimer disease–specific mechanisms, such as deposition of β‐amyloid. From the ARIC (Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities) study, 316 dementia‐free participants had florbetapir positron emission tomography, electrocardiography, and 2‐dimensional echocardiography. Findings revealed a link between atrial cardiopathy, left atrial volume index, and increased brain amyloid, by positron emission tomography, in healthy, nondemented community‐dwelling older people, and no similar link was evident in persons with AF. With the help of ongoing work, it will be ascertained whether alterations in cardiac structure and function precede or happen simultaneously with amyloid deposition.