Ohio, May 15 -- For decades, doctors and researchers have puzzled over a fundamental heart rhythm mystery: why do women have faster heartbeats while men are more susceptible to developing irregular rhythms like atrial fibrillation (AFib).

Now, a new study from The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Centre sheds some light.

The research shows that the sinoatrial node (SAN) -- a small but powerful structure in the human heart that serves as its natural pacemaker and initiates every normal heartbeat -- runs on different gene blueprints in men and women.

The study found that women have genes that help their hearts beat faster while men have gene networks that may lead to heart problems like AFib. The research was recently published in th...