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However, diagnostic criteria, disease thresholds, and targeted treatment strategies remain poorly defined.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>To describe the rationale, structure, and translational strategy of the EmbRACE (Electro-Molecular Basis and the theRapeutic management of Atrial Cardiomyopathy, fibrillation and associated outcomEs) network, a\u00a0national consortium established to address key knowledge gaps in AtCM.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>EmbRACE integrates mechanistic research, computational modelling, clinical trials, and implementation science within seven interconnected work packages. Human atrial tissue biobanking and deep phenotyping (WP1) enable molecular profiling of candidate pathways (WP2), which are validated in experimental models (WP3). Computational modelling and artificial intelligence (WP4) integrate multimodal clinical and biological data to derive composite AtCM phenotypes and severity frameworks. Substrate-targeting clinical trials evaluate AF ablation (RACE\u00a0X; WP5), weight reduction using GLP\u20111 agonists (DUTCH-WAIST; WP6), and optimised rate control using calcium channel antagonists (SMART-VERAPAF; WP6). Implementation science (WP7) focuses on guideline integration, decision-support tools, and governance of AI-based risk models.<\/jats:p>\n                    <jats:p>EmbRACE establishes a\u00a0translational pipeline from mechanistic discovery to clinical application. By integrating tissue-level insights with multimodal risk modelling and interventional trials, the consortium aims to define clinically meaningful AtCM thresholds, to validate indirect markers, and to determine whether targeted treatment modifies disease progression and clinical outcomes.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>EmbRACE provides a\u00a0multidisciplinary framework to transform AtCM from a\u00a0theoretical construct into a\u00a0clinically actionable entity, enabling earlier detection, improved risk stratification, and AtCM-directed therapy in cardiovascular prevention.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1007\/s12471-026-02081-3","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,15]],"date-time":"2026-10-15T23:48:45Z","timestamp":1792108125000},"page":"399-406","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Atrial cardiomyopathy: from knowledge gaps to clinical impact"],"prefix":"10.1007","volume":"34","author":[{"given":"Nick L.","family":"van Vreeswijk","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zarina","family":"Habibi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sander","family":"van Doorn","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Joris R.","family":"de Groot","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Monika","family":"Stoll","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dani\u00ebl A.","family":"Pijnappels","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jordi","family":"Heijman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Robert G.","family":"Tieleman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ron","family":"Pisters","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Martin E. 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J.R.\u00a0de Groot is member of the editorial board of Netherlands Heart Journal. J.\u00a0Heijman reports a\u00a0research grant from InCarda Therapeutics (to the institution) and a\u00a0research grant from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO\/ZonMW Vidi 09150171910029), outside the scope of the present work. M.\u00a0Rienstra received consultancy fees from Bayer (OCEANIC-AF national PI), InCarda Therapeutics (RESTORE-SR national PI), Novartis to the institution and speaker fees from Daiichi-Sankyo, Pfizer to the institution, and unrestricted research grant from ZonMW and the Dutch Heart Foundation (DECISION project 848090001), unrestricted research grants from the Netherlands Cardiovascular Research Initiative: an initiative with support of the Dutch Heart Foundation; RACE\u00a0V (CVON 2014\u20139), RED-CVD (CVON2017-11), and unrestricted research grant from the European Union\u2019s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement; EHRA-PATHS (945260) all outside of the scope of present work. M.E.W.\u00a0Hemels is member of the editorial board of Netherlands Heart Journal. F.V.Y.\u00a0Tjong reports grants from the Dutch Research Council (NWO\/ZonMW; Rubicon 452019308; AINed NGF0.1609.243.045), Dutch Heart Foundation (Dekker 03-005-2025-0129), Amsterdam Cardiovascular Sciences, TKI-LSH Health Holland, Abbott; and consulting honoraria to institutions from Abbott, Boston Scientific, Daiichi Sankyo; no personal gain. Z.\u00a0Habibi, S.\u00a0van Doorn, M.\u00a0Stoll, D.A.\u00a0Pijnappels, R.G.\u00a0Tieleman, R.\u00a0Pisters, U.\u00a0Schotten, G.-J.\u00a0Geersing and J.C.L.\u00a0Himmelreich declare that they have no competing interests.","order":1,"name":"Ethics","label":"Conflict of interest","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Ethics"}}]}}