Welcome  to  Public  Health  moment from  the  University  of  Minnesota. September  is  atrial  fibrillation  month, a  time  to  raise  awareness  about  this  condition, which  causes  an  irregular  and  often  rapid  heart  rate. According  to  Alvaro  Alonzo, an  Associate  Professor  of Public  Health  at  the  University  of  Minnesota, an  irregular  heartbeat  can  lead  to  stroke, heart  failure,  and  an  early  death. Recent  research  by  Alonzo,  however, has  found  that  the  condition  is  preventable  by, among  other  things,  improving diet  and  increasing  exercise. Our  main  finding  was  that  avoiding cardiovascular  risk  factors  like hypertension,  obesity,  diabetes, et  cetera,  we  might  be  able  to  prevent 50-60%  of  the  cases  of  tra, fibrillation  occurring  in  the  population. Our  recommendation  to  the  public  is  to follow  the  existing  guidelines  for the  prevention  of  cardiovascular  disease  that focus  on  having  a  healthy  diet, having  an  appropriate  weight, having  an  active  lifestyle. Those  recommendations  that  are  applicable to  other  heart  diseases might  be  also  applicable  to  trafibulation. Although  the  results  were  not  surprising, Alonzo  said  that  this  was  the  first  time a  large  study  was  undertaken  to  show this  relationship  between  an  irregular  heartbeat and  cardiovascular  risk  factors. In  the  last  few  years, there  has  been  an  increased  interest  in  showing  that  tra, fibulation  is  actually  preventable. And  our  study  puts  numbers  to  those.