1. In collaboration with Dr. Marrouche and his colleagues in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine and Dr. Donald McClain in the Division of Endocrinology at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, we will evaluate if iron overload predicts the severity of cardiac fibrosis in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). We will characterize iron and insulin resistance in an AF cohort and investigate if iron overload is associated with increased visceral fat deposition of the heart and atrial fibrosis, both known risk factors for AF, and to evaluate if there is an effect modification of CKD on the association.
2. Using a large clinical database, we will investigate if iron status can independently predict CKD incidence, CKD progression, adverse cardiac events (heart failure, arrhythmia, myocardial infarction, cardiac revascularization procedures), and all-cause mortality. We will also evaluate for association between iron status and glycemic control, and incidence of diabetes and/or glucose intolerance in non-diabetic CKD cohort.