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.

Lawsuit blames teen’s death during flight on defibrillator issue, lack of training
A teenager went into cardiac arrest on an American Airlines flight from Honduras to Miami. He never recovered, and now his family has filed a new lawsuit that blames the airline.
Estrogen may be linked to heart rhythm issues
A new experimental study focused on how different sex hormones can affect the heart's ability to properly pump blood. Estradiol, the most active form of estrogen, stood out as a hormone that requires additional research.
Medtronic gains key approval for new mapping and ablation system
Medtronic acquired the technology in a 2022 deal reportedly worth $925 million.
Pulsed-field ablation for AFib not linked to any signs of bronchial damage
As this new ablation technique continues to gain momentum, researchers are hoping to learn as much as possible about any potential side effects.
New American College of Cardiology President B. Hadley Wilson shares his goals for the future
The veteran interventional cardiologist told Cardiovascular Business he sees potential in the ACC's ability to grow both nationally and internationally in the next year.

Abbott FlexAbility Sensor Enabled Ablation Catheter FDA

Abbott gains new FDA approval for one catheter, CE mark approval for a second catheter

Both devices were approved for treating significant heart rhythm issues.

February 2, 2023

New findings out of the University of Missouri suggests that the long-lasting impact of COVID-19 may not be quite as substantial as some researchers originally believed. The study’s authors evaluated nearly 50 different symptoms to see if they were more common up to one year after a person has been infected with COVID-19. They found, however, that this was true of just seven symptoms: heart palpitations, chest pain, shortness of breath, joint pain, hair loss, fatigue and obesity. #COVID19 #longCOVID

Heart palpitations, chest pain among the long-lasting side effects of COVID-19, new research confirms

“Before we examined the data, I thought we would find an ample amount of the symptoms to be specifically associated with long COVID, but that wasn’t the case," one researcher said.

January 31, 2023

Atrial Fibrillation and its location in the atrium detected using the Vektor arrhythmia detection software. COVID infection can cause the development of AFib, AF, in patients as a long-COVID symptom.

VIDEO: The link between COVID-19 and atrial fibrillation

Peter Libby, MD, a cardiovascular medicine specialist with Brigham and Women’s Hospital, discussed the cases of AFib being seen in long-COVID patients.

January 30, 2023

Severe gum infections linked to heightened AFib risk

Researchers are still working to determine if gum disease leads to heart rhythm issues or if is actually the other way around.

January 27, 2023

$Extracorporeal CPR refractory out-of-hospital cardiac arrest$

Extracorporeal CPR for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: New research fails to provide answers

While a previous study had found that extracorporeal CPR outperformed conventional CPR among patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, a newer analysis suggests the two treatment options result in similar outcomes.

January 27, 2023

An example if an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD and its leads connected to the heart. As the leads or deveice wears out, there are recommendations to remove the leads and put in new ones. The most common causes of mortality during transvenous lead removal (TLR) in patients with cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) are infection and decompensated heart failure, according to new research published in JACC: Clinical Electrophysiology.Image courtesy of RSNA

Infection, heart failure the most common reasons for early mortality after transvenous lead removal

Early mortality specifically related to complications during the TLR procedure was quite rare.

January 20, 2023

Elevated uric acid levels linked to new-onset AFib

According to new data published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, atrial fibrillation can be added to the list of cardiovascular conditions associated with above-average uric acid levels.

January 13, 2023

Stroke patients with AFib face a higher mortality risk after thrombectomy

A comparative meta-analysis found similar procedural outcomes, but higher 90-day mortality—partially attributable to a higher rate of comorbidities.

January 10, 2023

Heart Rhythm

Lawsuit blames teen’s death during flight on defibrillator issue, lack of training

Estrogen may be linked to heart rhythm issues

Medtronic gains key approval for new mapping and ablation system

Pulsed-field ablation for AFib not linked to any signs of bronchial damage

New American College of Cardiology President B. Hadley Wilson shares his goals for the future

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