EP Lab Digest: March 4, 2014 In recent years, there have been many revelations about heart disease and how it specifically affects women. Research has shown that women frequently have different symptoms of a heart attack than men, and women are often worse off after a heart attack.1 Not surprisingly, the diagnosis, symptoms, and treatments […]
Cardiology News: March 18, 2013 Long-term users of warfarin had difficulty recognizing the clinical severity and urgency of anticoagulation-related situations such as stroke symptoms and medication mismanagement, the results of a survey indicated. “Factual knowledge of the pharmacology of warfarin does not guarantee safe use of warfarin. Enhancing patient education regarding drug-related emergencies will likely […]
MedPage Today: March 15, 2013 SAN FRANCISCO — Atrial fibrillation feels worse for women, although men are more likely to die from the arrhythmia, a subanalysis of the ORBIT AF registry showed. Women were more symptomatic with a poorer quality of life and greater functional limitations despite similar oral anticoagulation rates and less advanced Afib than […]
Minerva Medica: March 1, 2013 Department of Cardiology, Princess Alexandra Hospital, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia Stroke attributed to atrial fibrillation (AF) confers significant morbidity and mortality. In the past, warfarin has been the only successful stroke prevention agent available. However, it is often underutilized due to its well-known limitations, leaving many patients without adequate […]
American Heart Journal: February 22, 2013 Background All patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) require optimization of their ventricular rate. Factors leading to use of additional rhythm control in clinical practice have not been thoroughly defined. Methods The ORBIT-AF registry enrolled patients with AF from a broad range of practice settings and collected data on rate versus […]
NEJM: March 13, 2013 In the months following the approval of the oral anticoagulant dabigatran (Pradaxa, Boehringer Ingelheim) in October 2010, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) received through the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) many reports of serious and fatal bleeding events associated with use of the drug. Because dabigatran is an anticoagulant, […]
STROKEAHA: March 12, 2013 Background and Purpose—Although oral anticoagulants (OACs) are highly effective in reducing stroke risk in atrial fibrillation, some patients still sustain stroke despite being on an OAC. Our aim was to identify the risk factors that contribute to stroke risk in atrial fibrillation, although patients were taking OACs in a clinical trial setting. […]
Wiley: March 12, 2013 Background Atrial fibrillation is associated with greater baseline neurological impairment and worse outcomes following ischemic stroke. Previous studies suggest that greater volumes of more severe baseline hypoperfusion in patients with history of atrial fibrillation may explain this association. We further investigated this association by comparing patients with and without atrial fibrillation […]
JACC: March 10, 2013 Background A large proportion of atrial fibrillation (AF) patients do not receive guideline-recommended thromboprophylaxis, leaving them at risk for stroke and death. Using data from the 1st cohort of the prospective GARFIELD Registry, we characterized factors associated with non-use of vitamin K antagonists (VKA) for stroke prevention in AF. Read more
CIRCEP: March 9, 2013 Background—Iatrogenic myocardial injury by radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) releases pro-inflammatory substances from damaged myocardium, and these may contribute to endothelial dysfunction in systemic vascular structure. The aim of this study is to evaluate effect of non-ischemic myocardial damage on coronary microvascular function in patients undergoing atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation. Methods and Results—We […]
