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.

New study shows safe levels of exercise differ for men and women with Atrial Firbrillation

Data from nearly 380,000 patients presented at Heart Rhythm 2015 reveals that moderate exercise is beneficial, yet vigorous exercise can increase the risk of AF for men

15 May 2015

Study finds botulinum toxin injections in epicardial fat pads reduce AF risk immediately following surgery and after one year of follow-up

AF is the most common arrhythmia complicating cardiac surgery and occurs in approximately 30-40 percent of patients undergoing CABG surgery...

15 May 2015

Recent CE Mark approvals expand St. Jude Medical’s MRI-compatible device portfolio in Europe

St. Jude Medical, Inc., a global medical device company, today announced CE Mark approval of expanded labelling for its Ellipse implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), in addition to its Durata and Optisure defibrillation leads, allowing existing or future patients with these technologies to undergo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans without compromising device performance.

14 May 2015

Cardiome signs commercialization agreement with AOP for ESMOCARD products

Cardiome Pharma Corp. today announced that the company has entered a commercialization agreement with AOP Orphan Pharma to sell AOP's cardiovascular products, ESMOCARD and ESMOCARD LYO (esmolol hydrochloride) in Italy, France, Spain and Belgium.

12 May 2015

RIT's Behnaz Ghoraani awarded NIH grant to develop new atrial fibrillation solution

Behnaz Ghoraani, engineering faculty at Rochester Institute of Technology, was recently awarded a $456,000 grant from the National Institutes for Health for the project "Catheter guidance algorithm for identification of atrial fibrillation ablation."

6 May 2015

Boston Scientific signs two strategic agreements to bring comprehensive solutions to healthcare systems

Boston Scientific announces the signing of two strategic agreements to advance the company's efforts to bring value based solutions aimed at improving outcomes and reducing the cost of cardiovascular care delivery to healthcare systems.

30 Apr 2015

Atrial fibrillation linked to only one type of heart attack

Refining the results of a 2013 study, researchers have found that atrial fibrillation, or irregular heartbeat, is associated with only one type of heart attack - the more common of the two types.

28 Apr 2015

Specific altered function in heart's left atrium may signal stroke risk in people with a-fib

Stroke is a frequent and dreaded complication of atrial fibrillation. But predicting which of the estimated six million Americans with a-fib are at highest risk has long challenged physicians weighing stroke risk against the serious side effects posed by lifelong therapy with warfarin and other blood thinners.

28 Apr 2015

Record number of abstracts submitted to Heart Failure 2015

A record number of abstracts have been submitted to the world's leading heart failure congress, promising more original science than ever before.

25 Apr 2015

Study shows NASH linked to 50% higher death rates compared with NAFLD

Results from a large population-based cohort of almost a million people in the UK found that the chances of dying from non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), over a 14-year period, was approximately 50% higher than for those with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

25 Apr 2015

Two Louisville heart physicians to host symposium on cardiovascular disease in women

Two of Louisville's leading heart physicians will host a one-day symposium designed to provide the community, physicians, nurses and health professionals up-to-date information on the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease in women.

21 Apr 2015

CPAP use reduces atrial fibrillation recurrence in patients with obstructive sleep apnea

The use of continuous positive airway pressure was associated with a significant reduction in the recurrence of atrial fibrillation in patients with obstructive sleep apnea, according to an analysis of data from past research published today in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Clinical Electrophysiology.

21 Apr 2015

Ibrutinib (IMBRUVICA) may be effective for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

Ibrutinib (IMBRUVICA) data presented yesterday by Pharmacyclics, Inc. at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting suggest that ibrutinib may be an effective therapeutic option for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), as shown in both a transgenic mouse model and an in-vivo model of patient-derived xenograft (PDX) mice (grafts of tissue taken from a pancreatic cancer patient and grafted into a mouse).

20 Apr 2015

Study sheds light on the physical causes of sudden death

Sudden cardiac death accounts for approximately 10% of natural deaths, most of which are due to ventricular fibrillation. Each year it causes 300,000 deaths in the United States and 20,000 in Spain.

17 Apr 2015

Study looks at dabigatran adherence across Veterans Health Administration sites

Among patients with atrial fibrillation who filled prescriptions for the anticoagulant dabigatran at Veterans Health Administration sites, there was variability in patient medication adherence across sites, with appropriate patient selection and pharmacist-led monitoring associated with greater adherence to the medication, according to a study in the April 14 issue of JAMA.

16 Apr 2015

Newly approved drug for rare blood cancer shows sustained benefit for 2 years

The most recent results from a clinical trial show that ibrutinib, a newly approved drug for Waldenstrom's Macroglobulinemia, continued to control the rare blood cancer, with 95 percent of patients surviving for two years, report investigators from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

10 Apr 2015

Cardiome Pharma receives reimbursement status for BRINAVESS in Belgium

Cardiome Pharma Corp. today announced the approval of BRINAVESS for reimbursement by Belgium's national compulsory health care and benefits insurance authority, The National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance (Institut National d'Assurance Maladie Invalidité or INAMI). As a result of this decision, BRINAVESS is expected to be listed for reimbursement in Belgium as of June 1, 2015.

9 Apr 2015

Pharmacyclics announces positive results from IMBRUVICA Phase II study in WM patients

Pharmacyclics, Inc. today announced longer-term data from a Phase II investigator-initiated study showing Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia (WM) patients treated with IMBRUVICA (ibrutinib) experienced sustained disease control with an overall response rate (ORR) of 91% after a median of 19.1 months of treatment and a 2-year overall survival (OS) rate of 95%.

9 Apr 2015

Cardiovascular deaths continue to rise globally despite gains in prevention, treatment

As the global population pushes past 7 billion and more people reach old age, the number of deaths from cardiovascular diseases is on the rise. Cardiovascular diseases, the leading cause of premature death in the world, include heart attacks, strokes, and other circulatory diseases.

6 Apr 2015

Study assesses factors that lead to inaccurate detection of frequency, duration of AF episodes

A new study shows how specific factors such as gender, age and mood disorders like anxiety and depression can lead patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) to inaccurately assess their heart rhythm.

2 Apr 2015