Atrial Fibrillation News and Research

RSS

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia. An arrhythmia is a problem with the speed or rhythm of the heartbeat. A disorder in the heart’s electrical system causes AF and other types of arrhythmia. AF occurs when rapid, disorganized electrical signals in the heart’s two upper chambers, called the atria, cause them to contract very fast and irregularly (this is called fibrillation). As a result, blood pools in the atria and isn’t pumped completely into the heart’s two lower chambers, called the ventricles. When this happens, the heart’s upper and lower chambers don’t work together as they should. Often, people who have AF may not even feel symptoms. However, even when not noticed, AF can lead to an increased risk of stroke. In many patients, particularly when the rhythm is extremely rapid, AF can cause chest pain, heart attack, or heart failure. AF may occur rarely or every now and then, or it may become a persistent or permanent heart rhythm lasting for years.

UC San Diego offers catheter ablation for patients with atrial fibrillation

UC San Diego Sulpizio Cardiovascular Center is now offering patients with atrial fibrillation the breakthrough benefits of heat energy, or radio frequency waves, to irreversibly alter heart tissue that triggers an abnormal heart rhythm or arrhythmia.

17 Feb 2012

Kowa announces data of LIVALO vs. Crestor on pharmacodynamics of warfarin

Kowa Pharmaceuticals America, Inc. today announced data assessing the effect of LIVALO (pitavastatin) compared with Crestor (rosuvastatin) on steady-state pharmacodynamics (PD) of warfarin by measuring international normalized ratio (INR) in healthy adult subjects.

14 Feb 2012

New blood-thinning drugs likely to replace Coumadin for patients with non-valvular AF

Within a few years, a new generation of easy-to-use blood-thinning drugs will likely replace Coumadin for patients with irregular heartbeats who are at risk for stroke, according to a journal article by Loyola University Medical Center physicians.

7 Feb 2012

New ACCP guidelines address DVT/PE risk factors for long-distance travel

New evidence-based guidelines from the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) address the many risk factors for developing a deep vein thrombosis (DVT), or blood clot, as the result of long-distance travel.

7 Feb 2012

New drug might effectively prevent clot-related strokes in patients with AF

For patients with a type of irregular heart beat called atrial fibrillation (AF), a new anti-clotting drug might be better at preventing clot-related strokes while minimizing the risk of causing a bleeding stroke.

3 Feb 2012

Occasional erratic heart rhythms cause about one-fifth of unexplained strokes

Occasional erratic heart rhythms appear to cause about one-fifth of strokes for which a cause is not readily established, according to research presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2012.

3 Feb 2012

Medtronic initiates enrollment in IMPROVE HF Bridge Study

Medtronic, Inc. today announced the initiation and first patient enrollment in a clinical study that will evaluate gaps in the implementation of evidence-based treatment guidelines among chronic heart failure patients post-hospital discharge.

From Medtronic 2 Feb 2012

St. Jude Medical fourth quarter net sales increase 4% to $1.407B

St. Jude Medical, Inc. today reported sales and net earnings for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2011.

25 Jan 2012

Johnson & Johnson fourth quarter sales increase 3.9% to $16.3 billion

Johnson & Johnson today announced sales of $16.3 billion for the fourth quarter of 2011, an increase of 3.9% as compared to the fourth quarter of 2010. Operational sales increased 4.0% and the negative impact of currency was 0.1%.

24 Jan 2012

ARCA biopharma receives method patent for treatment with bucindolol based on genetic targeting

ARCA biopharma, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing genetically targeted therapies for cardiovascular diseases, today announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a patent on methods for determining whether to administer or prescribe bucindolol to a patient based on whether the patient has a specific genotype - homozygous for the arginine 389 polymorphism in the beta-1 adrenergic receptor.

20 Jan 2012

Link between pacemaker-detected atrial arrhythmias and stroke

An irregular heartbeat that you don't even feel but can be picked up by a pacemaker is associated with a significantly increased risk of stroke, says a new McMaster University study.

12 Jan 2012

Stereotaxis completes 50 clinical procedures with new Niobe ES system to treat cardiac arrhythmias

Stereotaxis, Inc. today announced the completion of the first 50 clinical procedures using the Company's new Niobe ES system to treat patients with a variety of complex cardiac arrhythmias. A majority of the first 50 cases were performed to treat atrial fibrillation (AF), the most common type of cardiac arrhythmia.

11 Jan 2012

ARCA biopharma extends pharmacogenetic intellectual property protection around bucindolol

ARCA biopharma, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing genetically targeted therapies for cardiovascular diseases, today announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a patent on methods for treating patients with bucindolol based on genetic targeting and focused on a specific genotype - homozygous wildtype for Deletion 322-325 in the alpha-2C adrenergic receptor.

31 Dec 2011

Tips to keep your heart happy and healthy during holiday season

'Tis the season to be jolly and heart healthy. "It is common for us to see an increase in heart-related issues, particularly around Christmas and New Year's," said Brandon Stacey, M.D., a cardiologist at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. "It is important to know that if you experience any chest pain or discomfort, seek immediate medical attention or call 911."

22 Dec 2011

Clinical trials highlight beneficial effect of CRT in heart failure

However, large-scale clinical trials have highlighted the beneficial effect of cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) in the improvement of symptoms and reduction of mortality, and CRT is now recommended in the major European and American guidelines for the treatment and prevention of heart failure.

19 Dec 2011

MHI cardiologists perform first clinical procedure in Canada using MitraClip system

The interventional cardiology team at the Montreal Heart Institute (MHI) recently conducted the first clinical procedure in Canada using the MitraClip system, which is designed to treat patients suffering from mitral valve failure, a very common heart defect that affects an estimated 1 out 5 people to various extents starting at the age of 55.

16 Dec 2011

Study finds underutilization of warfarin among Kentucky women with AF

Dr. Rabab Mohsin, an internal medicine resident at the University of Kentucky, working with Dr. Alison Bailey of the University of Kentucky Gill Heart Institute, has discovered that the drug warfarin was underutilized in a large study group of women.

14 Dec 2011

ISIS-FXIRx reduces Factor XI activity without bleeding in healthy volunteers

Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today positive results from a Phase 1 study with ISIS-FXIRx. The results demonstrated that treatment with ISIS-FXIRx produced dose-dependent statistically significant reductions of up to 78 percent in Factor XI activity.

13 Dec 2011

Electromechanical wave imaging can diagnose non-periodic arrhythmias

Thanks to a new study from Columbia Engineering School, doctors may now be able to diagnose in their offices non-periodic arrhythmias-noninvasively and at low cost-within a single heartbeat. Non-periodic arrhythmias include atrial and ventricular fibrillation, which are associated with severely abnormal heart rhythm that can in some cases be life-threatening.

9 Dec 2011

New method improves accuracy of AF risk assessments

Elderly people with atrial fibrillation are often treated with anticoagulants to thin the blood, but this medicine is hard to dose and patients have to have their blood tested regularly. Researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg and Chalmers University of Technology have now devised a new method that improves the accuracy of risk assessments.

7 Dec 2011