Variants involving SCN10A, which encodes a voltage-gated sodium channel, were already associated with alterations of cardiac conduction parameters and the cardiac rhythm disorder, thereby influencing the cardiac physiology and predisposing to arrhythmia.
To examine this, we collected sympathetic (SNS; skin conductance) and parasympathetic (PNS; respiratory sinus arrhythmia) nervous system reactivity to an interactive virtual reality horror video in a nonclinical sample (N = 103).
These observations establish a genomic mechanism for how a common genetic variation at SCN10A influences cardiac physiology and predisposes to arrhythmia.
SCN10A variants were also associated with subsequent development of atrial fibrillation and arrhythmia in the original 5272 "heart-healthy" study population.
The association signals at SCN5A-SCN10A demonstrate that genetic polymorphisms modulating cardiac conduction can also influence susceptibility to cardiac arrhythmia.