Lamprea-Montealegre JA, Zelnick LR, Shlipak MG, et al. - In this prospective study, researchers investigated 3,053 patients with chronic kidney disease to assess the risk of incident atrial fibrillation (AF) in these individuals in relation to cardiac biomarkers of myocardial stretch, injury, inflammation, and fibrosis. Participants in the multicenter Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort study were free of AF at baseline. NT-proBNP (N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide), high-sensitivity troponin T, galectin-3, growth differentiation factor-15, and soluble ST-2 were measured at baseline as cardiac biomarkers. A hospitalization for AF defined incident AF (“AF event”). Participants were observed over a median duration of 8 years. In the study sample, strong links were found between higher NT-proBNP and high-sensitivity troponin T levels, and the risk of incident AF. The possible implication of increased atrial myocardial stretch and myocardial cell injury in the high burden of AF in patients with chronic kidney disease was also suggested.