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.

Diet plays key role in severe childhood allergic disorders

Study findings suggest that children and adolescents who eat fast food three times a week or more have a greater risk for severe asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis, and eczema than those who do not.

25 Jan 2013

Asthma link to cleaning jobs supported

Having a cleaning job and being regularly exposed to cleaning products significantly increase a person’s risk for asthma, suggest results from a long-term UK study.

25 Jan 2013

Researchers find new genetic differences in human hearts

Healthy men and women show little difference in their hearts, except for small electrocardiographic disparities. But new genetic differences found by Washington University in St. Louis researchers in hearts with disease could ultimately lead to personalized treatment of various heart ailments.

25 Jan 2013

NICE recommends BP monitor for atrial fibrillation detection

The UK National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has issued recommendations for the use of a new blood pressure device that could detect atrial fibrillation.

21 Jan 2013

Early treatment during primary HIV infection shows promise

Two papers in The New England Journal of Medicine suggest that starting antiretroviral treatment early after HIV infection is diagnosed may improve patients’ immune response, boosting the initial recovery of the immune system and delaying progression of the disease.

21 Jan 2013

St. Jude Medical’s AMPLATZER Amulet device receives European CE Mark approval

St. Jude Medical, Inc., a global medical device company, today announced European CE Mark approval of its AMPLATZER Amulet Left Atrial Appendage Occluder.

19 Jan 2013

nContact receives FDA clearance for EPi-Sense cardiac ablation device

nContact, Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared the Company's modifications to its VisiTrax cardiac ablation device, EPi-Sense, now with embedded sensing capability.

18 Jan 2013

Atrial fibrillation increases risk of kidney failure in people with CKD

Many people who suffer from chronic kidney disease progressively lose their kidney function over time and eventually develop a condition called end-stage renal disease - the complete failure of the kidneys - placing them in need of lifelong dialysis or a kidney transplant.

18 Jan 2013

Boston Scientific initiates Blazer Open-Irrigated Catheter clinical trial in atrial fibrillation

The first patient has been treated in the Boston Scientific Corporation ZERO AF clinical trial to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the Blazer Open-Irrigated Temperature Ablation Catheter in patients with symptomatic, drug refractory paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.

17 Jan 2013

Study identifies individual role of electrical heterogeneity and fibre structure in AF

A virtual heart, developed at The University of Manchester, is revealing new information about one of the world's most common heart conditions.

From The University of Manchester 16 Jan 2013

Tailored asthma therapy on the horizon

UK researchers report that montelukast therapy is more effective than salmeterol in children with asthma who have a particular genotype – a finding that could pave the way for personalized asthma management.

15 Jan 2013

No link between gas cooking and asthma, allergies

Research suggests that exposure to gas cooking does not increase a child’s risk for asthma and other allergic conditions.

14 Jan 2013

Metabolic stress can increase onset of atrial fibrillation

Researchers have found new evidence that metabolic stress can increase the onset of atrial arrhythmias, such as atrial fibrillation (AF), a common heart condition that causes an irregular and often abnormally fast heart rate.

9 Jan 2013

Prion filtration tested for red blood cell transfusions

Red blood cell prion filtration does not increase the risk for alloimmunization or transfusion reactions, suggest results from the largest safety study to date.

9 Jan 2013

Asthma linked to pulmonary embolism risk

Patients with asthma have an increased risk for pulmonary embolism, show Dutch findings.

8 Jan 2013

Vaccine gives HIV patients a long-term boost

A functional cure for HIV-1 seems feasible after research shows that an immunotherapeutic vaccine demonstrated long-term efficacy at reducing viral load when administered to patients in the early stages of disease.

7 Jan 2013

High vitamin D in pregnancy may increase food allergy risk in children

Study results published in Allergy suggest that supplementing pregnant women with vitamin D may increase their children’s risk for developing food allergy in infancy.

4 Jan 2013

Brake for skin inflammation discovered

The absence of a protein called Ctip2 in the skin allows increased levels of T-helper 2 cytokines and may have a role in conditions such as atopic dermatitis, research in mice suggests.

4 Jan 2013

Bristol-Myers Squibb, Pfizer receive FDA approval for ELIQUIS to reduce risk of stroke and SE

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and Pfizer Inc. announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved ELIQUIS (apixaban) to reduce the risk of stroke and systemic embolism in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation.

2 Jan 2013

Domestic cleaning sprays linked to increased asthma risk in women

Study findings suggest that women who use at least two types of cleaning spray on a weekly basis to clean their homes may be putting themselves at an increased risk for asthma.

31 Dec 2012