Heart Rhythm

Hearts should have normal rhythm to their beats, but when these beats are out of synch, it causes inefficient pumping of blood. Irregular heart arrhythmias occur when the electrical signals that coordinate the heart's beats do not work properly. This can cause beats that are too fast (tachycardia), or too slow (bradycardia). Tachycardias include atrial fibrillation (AFib), supraventricular tachycardia, ventricular fibrillation, and ventricular tachycardia (VT). Bradycardias include sick sinus syndrome and conduction block. Electrophysiology arrhythmia treatments include medications, life style changes, and the EP lab interventions of catheter ablation, and implantable pacemakers or defibrillators.

Biotronik enrolls first patients in study evaluating BioMonitor 2 in office setting

Biotronik announced Dec. 5 that the first patients had enrolled in the BioInsight trial, which is evaluating the use of the BioMonitor 2 in an office setting.

Medtronic agrees to operate cath, EP labs at Cleveland medical center

Medtronic has signed a deal to operate the catheterization and electrophysiology laboratories at the University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center in Cleveland.

Be grateful this thanksgiving, your heart will appreciate it

Being extra thankful this Thanksgiving might give your heart health a boost, research suggests.

MMD patients have risk of conduction abnormalities, left ventricular dysfunction

More than 20 percent of patients with type I and type II myotonic muscular dystrophy (MMD) had critically prognostic conduction abnormalities, according to a small study at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. In addition, more than 10 percent of the patients had left ventricular dysfunction.

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Marijuana use could lead to stress cardiomyopathy

Though marijuana is now prescribed by medical professionals to help some patients cope with their health conditions, a new study shows that the drug could still do harm if used too frequently.

Pacemakers implanted following TAVR may increase mortality risk

Patients who were implanted with a pacemaker after undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) had a 31 percent higher one-year mortality rate compared with patients who did not receive a pacemaker following TAVR, according to a retrospective cohort study.

Taking dabigatran may reduce hospitalizations for non-valvular atrial fibrillation patients

A retrospective cohort analysis found that patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation who were newly treated with dabigatran (Pradaxa) had significantly lower all-cause hospitalizations, emergency room visits and physician office visits compared with a group that received warfarin.

TCT 2016: LAA closure device has high technical success rate in atrial fibrillation patients

An observational, prospective study found that there was a 98.8 percent technical success rate with the investigational Amplatzer Amulet LAA Occluder in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation.

Around the web

Ron Blankstein, MD, professor of radiology, Harvard Medical School, explains the use of artificial intelligence to detect heart disease in non-cardiac CT exams.

Eleven medical societies have signed on to a consensus statement aimed at standardizing imaging for suspected cardiovascular infections.