NLRP3 and atrial fibrillation: In older individuals, elevated cytokines are significantly linked both to CHIP and AF, and notably, the NLRP3 inflammasome pathway plays a crucial role, activating caspase-1 in macrophages and leading to the conversion of pro-IL-1β and pro-IL-18 into active cytokines, stimulating IL-6 production [61,62] (Figure 1).