Atrial Fibrillation News and Research

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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.

Demand for Isansys’ Patient Status Engine wireless patient monitoring platform exceeds expectations

Demand for real-time continuous data, including personal health information, early warning scores, and alerting when a patient's condition is deteriorating, is driving the market for complete monitoring systems in hospital and home care settings globally.

From Isansys Lifecare Ltd. 1 Jun 2016

Need for standardised guidelines to fight Alzheimer's disease

Some 47 million people worldwide suffer from some form of dementia. Scientists are working feverishly to find a cure for the most common form, Alzheimer's. At the Congress of the European Academy of Neurology in Copenhagen, Prof Gunhild Waldemar issued an appeal for researchers to work together and draw up standardised guidelines for early identification and treatment of the disease.

31 May 2016

Trial results underestimate anticoagulant bleeding risk

A study in The BMJ demonstrates that estimates of major bleeding risk in patients taking anticoagulants in clinical trials are unlikely to reflect the reality of clinical practice.

28 May 2016

AF linked to increased cancer risk in women

Women with new-onset atrial fibrillation have a significantly increased cancer risk for at least 1 year after AF diagnosis, an analysis of Women's Health Study data shows.

27 May 2016

UPMC study gives better understanding of cardiac arrhythmia following lung transplantation

Cardiac arrhythmia is a common complication following lung transplantation, and one that has a significant negative impact on long-term patient survival, reports a team of UPMC researchers in the largest study of its kind to date.

27 May 2016

AF-related symptoms and quality of life worse in women

Women with atrial fibrillation experience more severe symptoms, a lower quality of life and a higher risk of stroke than men, but they have better overall survival, US study data show.

24 May 2016

Study explores incidence of heart failure following myocardial infarction

One in four patients develop heart failure within four years of a first heart attack, according to a study in nearly 25 000 patients presented today at Heart Failure 2016 and the 3rd World Congress on Acute Heart Failure by Dr Johannes Gho, a cardiology resident at the University Medical Center Utrecht, in Utrecht, the Netherlands.

24 May 2016

UK's first heart operation uses new Topera system to analyse electrical activity during AF

The UK's first heart operations using a novel software platform to pinpoint the source of the heart condition have been carried out in Leicester thanks to research at the University of Leicester.

19 May 2016

Call for improvements in CVD risk models

There are too many poorly validated models for predicting cardiovascular disease risk in the general population, researchers report in The BMJ.

19 May 2016

Targeting rotors challenged for nonparoxsymal AF

Targeted ablation of electrical rotors and focal sources is not a successful strategy in patients with persistent or long-standing atrial fibrillation, shows the randomised OASIS trial.

18 May 2016

Computerized decision support tool can assist physicians in prescribing stroke prevention therapy

Physician-researchers in the College of Medicine at the University of Cincinnati have developed a computerized decision support tool that uses a combination of patient information and characteristics to assist physicians and patients with decisions about blood thinning treatment to prevent strokes in individuals with atrial fibrillation.

12 May 2016

Study shows women undergoing TAVR have longer-term survival rate compared to men

Data from one of the largest national registries of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) patients shows that although women are more likely to experience vascular complications in the hospital, their one-year survival rate is more favorable than men.

10 May 2016

Novel anticoagulants on ‘as-needed basis’ could be safe alternative to lowering stroke risk

Patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), a rapid irregular heartbeat caused by pooling blood in the heart which can lead to heart failure and stroke, are often treated with an ablation, a minimally invasive procedure used to remove the tissue which causes the pooled blood.

9 May 2016

Study finds no gender-based differences on use of anticoagulation medications in TAVR patients

A study on the impact of using different anticoagulation medications on men and women who have undergone a transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) found no difference in early vascular complications or mortality.

9 May 2016

Wolff-Parkinson-White patients continue to have atrial fibrillation risk even after catheter ablation, study finds

Patients with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome who receive catheter ablation to cure their abnormal heart rhythms are just as likely as non-ablated patients to develop atrial fibrillation no matter what age they receive ablation, according to a new study.

6 May 2016

Long-term Warfarin use may increase dementia rates in AF patients

A new study of more than 10,000 patients treated long term with the blood thinner, Warfarin, reveals higher rates of dementia for patients with atrial fibrillation versus non-AF patients

5 May 2016

Study shows short-term statin treatment does not benefit heart surgery patients

Giving daily doses of statins for a few days before and after heart surgery does not prevent heart muscle damage or the development of atrial fibrillation (AF), according to an international clinical trial led by the University of Oxford and funded by the British Heart Foundation.

5 May 2016

Vernakalant drug more effective than Ibutilide in treating recent-onset atrial fibrillation

Vernakalant, a new drug for treating recent-onset atrial fibrillation, has proved to be considerably more effective than Ibutilide, an established drug in this indication. It was able to normalize patients' heart rhythm more rapidly and with fewer side-effects ocurring. This was revealed by a study conducted at the Department of Emergency Medicine at Medical University of Vienna/General Hospital that has recently been published in "Europace", a journal of the European Society of Cardiology.

2 May 2016

New oral blood thinners can decrease stroke risk in atrial fibrillation patients without frequent monitoring

A new generation of blood thinners can reduce the risk of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation, without requiring frequent monitoring and dietary restrictions.

16 Apr 2016

Micra Transcatheter Pacing System approved to treat heart rhythm disorders

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved the first pacemaker that does not require the use of wired leads to provide an electrical connection between the pulse-generating device and the heart. While the Micra Transcatheter Pacing System works like other pacemakers to regulate heart rate, the self-contained, inch-long device is implanted directly in the right ventricle chamber of the heart.

7 Apr 2016