Fatty liver is linked to heart risks with an irregular heartbeat
Among patients newly diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, cardiovascular event rates were 72.2 per 1,000 person-years with fatty liver versus 59.8 without it.
Dose-response
Limit: Fatty liver was assessed using a proxy index rather than direct imaging or biopsy
Edited by Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
A nationwide observational cohort study followed 79,551 people in South Korea newly diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, an irregular heartbeat. Their average age was 63.26 years, and 52.4% were male. Researchers used the fatty liver index, an indirect measure of liver fat, and matched 22,682 pairs with and without fatty liver.
Over 382,971 person-years, the combined rate of heart failure hospitalization, stroke caused by blocked blood flow and heart attack was 72.2 per 1,000 person-years with fatty liver versus 59.8 without it. After adjustment, fatty liver was associated with a 9% higher relative risk of this combined outcome. Heart attack risk did not differ significantly. A change from fatty liver to no fatty liver by the index was associated with an 11% lower relative risk of the combined outcome.
Why it matters
The study addressed whether liver fat status and its changes over time were linked to future cardiovascular complications in a population averaging 63.26 years old.
Caveats
This observational study cannot establish cause and effect, and it assessed fatty liver using a proxy index. Reported in a congress abstract, the findings concern people in South Korea with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation and may not apply to other populations.
The paper
Hepatic steatosis and incident cardiovascular events in patients with new-onset atrial fibrillation
Korea University Guro Hospital
ESC Congress 2026 Abstract, Oct 26, 2026
Presented at ESC Congress 2026
