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.

Cancer patients with spinal fractures can benefit from Kyphon Balloon Kyphoplasty

Medtronic of Canada Ltd. today announced the results of the first randomized, controlled trial comparing Kyphon Balloon Kyphoplasty with non-surgical care in treating spinal fractures in cancer patients.

23 Mar 2011

Dabigatran etexilate cost-effective compared to current care for stroke prevention in AF patients

A new health economic analysis, published today online in Thrombosis and Haemostasis, suggested that Boehringer Ingelheim's novel oral direct thrombin inhibitor, dabigatran etexilate, is cost-effective compared to current treatment options, particularly in "real-world" clinical practice.

23 Mar 2011

Actress invites public to vote for projects that increase AF-related stroke awareness

Today, actress Jane Seymour invites the public to vote for projects that increase awareness of the link between atrial fibrillation and stroke. AF is the most common sustained heart rhythm disorder worldwide and leads to as many as 3 million strokes worldwide each year.

22 Mar 2011

SLEH treats irregular heartbeat with novel minimally invasive cold cryoballoon technology

A physician affiliated with Texas Heart® Institute (THI) at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital (SLEH) is the first in Houston and among the first in the nation to treat patients for an irregular heartbeat with a new, minimally invasive cryoballoon technology that uses cold rather than heat to interrupt faulty electrical circuits in the heart.

21 Mar 2011

CardioFocus secures $5M in debt financing from Silicon Valley Bank

CardioFocus, a venture capital-backed medical device company developing technology to treat cardiac disorders, has secured $5M in debt financing from Silicon Valley Bank, financial partner to technology and life science companies of all sizes worldwide. CardioFocus will use the new financing to initiate its pivotal trial in the United States and to expand the commercialization of its products in Europe.

21 Mar 2011

Celera reports net revenue of $34.9 million for fourth quarter of 2010

Celera Corporation today reported net revenues of $34.9 million for the fourth quarter of 2010 that ended December 25, 2010, compared to $39.2 million for the prior year quarter.

18 Mar 2011

ACT initiates enrollment in TEMPASURE cardiac ablation catheter CE Mark clinical trial

Advanced Cardiac Therapeutics, Inc., a developer of innovative temperature-sensing cardiac ablation systems, today announced that the first patients have been enrolled in a first-in-man CE Mark clinical trial of the safety and performance of the company's TEMPASURE™ cardiac ablation catheter. The TEMPASURE system is the world's first RF cardiac ablation catheter to offer both saline irrigation and temperature-sensing technology.

17 Mar 2011

Human growth, height, size: Reasons to be small

Almost everybody these days thinks that it is best to be tall, meaning much taller than the average traditional height of Asian populations, and even taller than the current average height of populations in high-income countries. It is also often believed – though people might be shy to admit this – that tall people are intrinsically superior to short people. The expressions 'look up to' and 'look down on' are significant.

15 Mar 2011

Pico-Tesla receives ISO certification for Resonator device

Pico-Tesla, The Magneceutical Company, has received the International Organization for Standardization 13485:2003 certificate for the "design, development, production, manufacture and distribution of resonator systems that generate a low-level electromagnetic field for the therapeutic treatment of disease."

15 Mar 2011

First U.S. catheter ablation procedure for treatment of AF performed at Mount Sinai

The Mount Sinai Medical Center has become the first hospital in the United States to perform a cardiac catheterization procedure using the TactiCath force-sensing ablation catheter for the treatment of symptomatic paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, or periodic rapid and irregular heartbeats.

11 Mar 2011

BIOTRONIK's new ablation catheter is now available in Europe

BIOTRONIK SE Co. & KG, a leading manufacturer of cardiac devices, has announced that its innovative new ablation catheter, AlCath Flux eXtra Gold, is now available throughout Europe after receiving CE mark and successfully completing the premarket evaluation in Germany, Italy, Switzerland and several other European countries.

9 Mar 2011

Stroke survivors with atrial fibrillation may be at greater risk of developing Dementia

Stroke survivors who have an irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation may be at higher risk of developing dementia than stroke survivors who do not have the heart condition, according to research published in the March 8, 2011, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

8 Mar 2011

New insight into coronary artery disease

Insight into the complex biological mechanisms that cause heart disease has taken a major step forward with the discovery of 13 new genes that increase the risk of coronary artery disease.

7 Mar 2011

Doctors at Beaumont Hospital, Troy perform robotic-assisted maze procedure to correct atrial fibrillation

Doctors at Beaumont Hospital, Troy have performed Michigan's first minimally invasive robotic procedure to correct atrial fibrillation, a prevalent and growing heart rhythm disorder. The new robotic maze procedure is an alternative to open-heart surgery. It's performed through tiny, keyhole incisions with fewer complications and a shorter hospital stay.

4 Mar 2011

Medtronic launches Achieve Mapping Catheter in Europe

Medtronic, Inc. today announced the European launch of the Achieve Mapping Catheter, an intra-cardiac electrophysiology recording catheter that can be used to assess pulmonary vein isolation when treating paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.

4 Mar 2011

CardioFocus completes $30.6M private financing

CardioFocus, Inc., developer of the Endoscopic Ablation System for the transcatheter treatment of Atrial Fibrillation, announced the completion of a $30.6M private financing.

28 Feb 2011

HRS invites NewCardio to present CardioBip system clinical study results at Annual Scientific Meeting

NewCardio, Inc., a cardiovascular diagnostic solutions developer, announced today that the Company has been invited by the Heart Rhythm Society to present results of a recent clinical study showing that recurrent atrial fibrillation was accurately and timely detected in patients who used CardioBip for daily monitoring following catheter ablation procedures.

25 Feb 2011

PolyMedix completes PMX-30063 Phase 1 exposure-escalation clinical study to treat Staph infections

PolyMedix, Inc., an emerging biotechnology company focused on developing new therapeutic drugs to treat infectious diseases and acute cardiovascular disorders, today announced the successful completion of a Phase 1 exposure-escalation clinical study with its synthetic defensin-mimetic antibiotic, PMX-30063.

24 Feb 2011

Regeneron submits VEGF Trap-Eye BLA to FDA for treatment of wet AMD

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that the company submitted a Biologics License Application (BLA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for VEGF Trap-Eye for the treatment of the neovascular form of age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD). Under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA), the goal for a standard review time from submission to FDA action is ten months.

22 Feb 2011

Elsevier, CJC publish 2011 issue of Canadian Journal of Cardiology

Elsevier and the Canadian Cardiovascular Society announce the publication of the January/February 2011 issue of the Canadian Journal of Cardiology, the first in their partnership. This theme issue focused on atrial fibrillation includes the long-awaited Canadian Cardiovascular Society Atrial Fibrillation Guidelines.

21 Feb 2011