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.

Enrollment commences in St. Jude Medical's atrial fibrillation stroke prevention trial

St. Jude Medical, Inc., a global medical device company, today announced that the first patient was enrolled in the EAST (Early comprehensive Atrial fibrillation Stroke prevention Trial) clinical trial.

2 Aug 2011

First cardiac ablation procedure using Thermocool SmartTOUCH catheter performed at Mount Sinai

The Mount Sinai Medical Center has become the first hospital on the east coast to perform a cardiac ablation procedure using the Thermocool Smarttouch Contact Force-Sensing Catheter for the treatment of symptomatic, paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF), or periodic rapid and irregular heartbeats.

30 Jul 2011

Post-menopausal women with CAD are at increased risk for SCD: Study

A new study from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania indicates that post-menopausal women with coronary artery disease and other risk factors are at an increased risk for sudden cardiac death.

30 Jul 2011

Merck reports worldwide sales of $12.2 billion for second quarter 2011

Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced financial results for the second quarter of 2011.

29 Jul 2011

New LEAP technique can restore heart rhythm in patients with atrial fibrillation

A high-amplitude, and often painful, electrical shock is the only currently available method for treating certain cases of chronic cardiac arrhythmia. But now a new technique using much weaker impulses has been developed by an international team of physicists and cardiologists, including Alain Pumir, CNRS researcher at the ENS Lyon physics laboratory.

28 Jul 2011

Merck secures worldwide rights to vernakalant i.v.

Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, and Astellas US LLC, the U.S. subsidiary of Astellas Pharma Inc. today announced that they have entered into an agreement under which Merck, through a subsidiary, will acquire the exclusive rights to develop and commercialize the investigational intravenous formulation of vernakalant (vernakalant i.v.) in Canada, Mexico and the United States from Astellas.

27 Jul 2011

St. Jude Medical second quarter net sales increase 10% to $1.447 billion

St. Jude Medical, Inc. today reported sales and net earnings for the second quarter ended July 2, 2011.

20 Jul 2011

UTHealth enrolls first patient in new stem cell therapy trial for ischemic stroke

The first Texas patient has been enrolled by researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston in the country's first double-blind clinical trial studying the safety and efficacy of an innovative stem cell therapy that can be given up to 19 days after an ischemic stroke.

15 Jul 2011

New low-energy method for terminating cardiac fibrillation

An international team of scientists from the Max-Planck-Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Cornell University the Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, the University Medicine Göttingen, the Rochester Institute of Technology, and the Institut Non-Linéaire de Nice have developed a new low-energy method for terminating life-threatening cardiac fibrillation of the heart.

14 Jul 2011

New less painful technique to end life-threatening heart fibrillations

Cornell scientists, in collaboration with physicists and physician-scientists in Germany, France and Rochester, N.Y., have developed a new - and much less painful and potentially damaging - method to end life-threatening heart fibrillations.

14 Jul 2011

Coronary artery disease is a predictor for new-onset atrial fibrillation after heart attack

Results from a case control study show that coronary artery disease affecting the atrial branches is an independent predictor for new-onset atrial fibrillation (AF) after acute myocardial infarction (MI), or heart attack.

12 Jul 2011

Endosense completes first patient case utilizing new prototype software

Endosense, a Swiss medical technology company, has announced completion of the first patient case utilizing prototype software that integrates the contact-force data provided by Endosense's TactiCath force-sensing ablation catheter with Siemens Healthcare's electrophysiology solutions.

11 Jul 2011

Anti-inflammatory drugs may increase risk of atrial fibrillation

Commonly used painkillers to treat inflammation are linked to an increased risk of irregular heart rhythm, concludes a study published on bmj.com today.

5 Jul 2011

EHRA, Cardiostim partner to develop common scientific programme committee

EHRA-Europace and Cardiostim, Europe's leading congresses in "electrophysiology" and the treatment of heart rhythm disorders have formed a strategic alliance to ensure the development from year to year of a homogeneous congress programme devised under the direction of a common scientific committee.

30 Jun 2011

ESC Congress 2011 to spotlight 'controversial issues in cardiology'

The scientific programme for this year's ESC Congress, which will take place in Paris from 27-31 August, is now complete and promises to provide journalists with a rich source of front-page news stories and background for topical features.

30 Jun 2011

Two-pronged 'hybrid' procedure for treatment of atrial fibrillation

Doctors at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis are performing a new procedure to treat atrial fibrillation, a common irregular heartbeat.

29 Jun 2011

Researchers, policy experts to examine issue of declining enrollment in clinical trials

Leading researchers and policy experts from across the country will come together June 27 and June 28 at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York to examine the issue of declining enrollment in clinical trials.

28 Jun 2011

New guide indicates when and how genetic testing is useful for inherited cardiac conditions

While genetic inheritance is known to play a role in the multifactorial development of most diseases of the heart, there are also a number of clearly diagnosed cardiac conditions which owe their development to quite specific genetic abnormalities. When these genetic disorders affect the integrity of the heart's muscle they are known as a "cardiomyopathy"; when the disorder affects the heart's "excitability", it is known as a "channelopathy".

27 Jun 2011

Mortality, morbidity rates linked with AF remain 'unacceptably high' despite new treatments

Despite recent advances in the treatment of heart rhythm disturbances, mortality and morbidity rates associated with atrial fibrillation (AF) remain "unacceptably high", according to a new report.