On Wednesday 3 December 2025, C. Serban will defend the doctoral thesis titled: The Elephant that Never Leaves the Room: Obesity induced atrial fibrillation
- Promotor
- Promotor
- Co-promotor
- Date
- Wednesday 3 Dec 2025, 13:00 - 14:30
- Type
- PhD defence
- Space
- Professor Andries Querido room
- Building
- Education Center
- Location
- Erasmus MC
Below is a brief summary of the dissertation:
Obesity is a well-established worldwide recognised risk factor for atrial fibrillation (AF). The link between obesity and development of AF includes common risk factors (e.g., metabolic syndrome and coronary artery disease) as well as atrial substrate modifiers (e.g., epicardial adipose tissue (EAT), hypoxia and fibrotic remodelling of the subepicardium). The proarrhythmogenic substrate of obesity is associated with left atrial (LA) size, increased inflammation, oxidative stress through elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS) and autonomic dysregulation mediated by increased adipocytokines and proinflammatory cytokines.
The association between increased body mass index (BMI) and AF has been extensively described in the current literature, however the exact mechanism through which obesity contributes to atrial electrophysiological abnormalities as a precursor of AF is still not completely elucidated.
- More information
The public defence will start exactly at 13.00 hrs. The doors will be closed once the public defence starts, latecomers cannot access the hall. Given the solemn nature of the meeting, we advise not to bring children under the age of 6 to the first part of the ceremony.
A livestream link has been provided to candidate.
