Abstract: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common persistent arrhythmia. Its mechanism is still unclear, involving electrical remodeling, structural remodeling, inflammatory response, oxidative stress and many other aspects. Recent studies on relaxin (RLX) have shown that relaxin plays an important role in the cardiovascular system. This paper summarizes the potential role of RLX in AF and its related mechanisms, which provides a new way for the prevention and treatment of AF.

Key words: atrial fibrillation, relaxin, atrial remodeling, matrix metalloproteinases