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.

Pigs and pacemakers

Researchers at Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute in Los Angeles tested a “biological pacemaker” in pig hearts using gene therapy. The approach is at least three years away from human trials, the New York Times reports.

1 in 38 ICD patients experience major complications to lead revisions

Surgery to revise implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) leads had the highest overall incidence of major complications compared to initial implantation or procedures that did not involve the leads.

Pacemaker coders: Mind you Ps, Qs and KXs

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) initiated a national determination coverage decision July 7 for permanent cardiac pacemakers that will require a modifier to receive Medicare reimbursement for procedures.

Dabigatran on par with warfarin for in-hospital mortality

In-hospital mortality for patients with atrial fibrillation who experienced intracranial bleeding was similar whether they were treated with dabigatran or warfarin in a study published online July 3 in Stroke. The findings may help physicians and patients who are choosing between the two types of anticoagulants.

Thumbnail

Device monitoring allows more defined AF classifications

Using data derived from patient monitoring devices, researchers found clearer, more reproducible results on burden and persistence in atrial fibrillation (AF) patients than through clinical observations alone.

Boehringer Ingelheim’s investigational antidote for Pradaxa (dabigatran etexilate mesylate) receives FDA breakthrough therapy designation

Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation to idarucizumab, an investigational fully humanized antibody fragment, or Fab, being studied as a specific antidote for Pradaxa (dabigatran etexilate mesylate).

It’s not personal: Genotyping may add no value for warfarin dosing

Personalized medicine may not be best means of guiding warfarin therapy, a study published online June 16 in JAMA suggests. In an analysis of outcomes of nine studies across the U.S., Europe and Israel, no benefit to utilizing genetic testing for markers CYP2C9, VKORC1, and CYP4F2 vs.  standard algorithms for dosing were seen.

Early visits may provide key to lowering atrial fibrillation readmissions

Patients with atrial fibrillation and comorbid conditions may benefit from follow-up outpatient visits in the first 14 days following a hospitalization, reducing the risks of 30-, 60-, or 90-day readmissions, according to a study published in the May/June issue of the American Journal of Medical Quality.

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.

Trimed Popup
Trimed Popup