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.

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COAPT update: How AFib affects TMVR outcomes

The new analysis, published in Circulation: Cardiovascular Interventions, focused on data from more than 600 patients who participated in the COAPT trial. 

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American Indians have an especially high risk of stroke, leaving researchers with many questions

The study included data from nearly 17 million adults who received treatment from 2005 to 2011. Researchers compared the stroke rates of patients with atrial fibrillation and those without it. 

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AFib and atrial flutter in the United States: 5 key takeaways from a new analysis

The study, published in the American Journal of Cardiology, shines new light on a significant health issue. 

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Epilepsy groups investigate FDA warning that lamotrigine could harm patients with heart problems

The International League Against Epilepsy and American Epilepsy Society formed a task force to investigate this new warning, sharing its findings in Epilepsia Open

Ablation could be ‘a powerful new strategy’ for treating heart failure patients with atrial fibrillation

According to a new study published in Circulation, ablation was associated with numerous benefits over standard drug therapy.

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Energy drinks may damage the heart, researchers warn—should the FDA get involved?

The authors assessed 17 popular energy drinks, sharing their analysis in Food and Chemical Toxicology

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AI filter helps heart-monitoring devices limit false-positive AFib findings

The AI filter used in the study included two separate convolutional neural networks trained on more than one million ECGs.

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High blood pressure associated with greater risk of atrial fibrillation

The new analysis, published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, confirmed that atrial fibrillation can be prevented. 

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.