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.

Thumbnail

Hydroxychloroquine ‘not an effective treatment’ for COVID-19, leads to longer hospital stays

The study's authors explored data from more than 1,500 patients treated with hydroxychloroquine and more than 3,000 who received usual care. 

Thumbnail

How treating AFib with catheter ablation affects patients with heart failure

One key finding reported by the research team was a substantial decrease in AFib readmissions. 

covid-19 coronavirus

Outcomes are grim when COVID-19 patients receive CPR for in-hospital cardiac arrest

Researchers explored data from more than 1,300 COVID-19 patients, sharing their findings in JAMA Internal Medicine

Thumbnail

Hydroxychloroquine ‘seems to be safe’ for COVID-19 patients, report researchers focused on arrhythmic safety

The authors did emphasize that they were not ruling on the overall “clinical efficacy” of hydroxychloroquine with this research. 

FDA data link hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine to severe cardiovascular side effects

The study's authors urged physicians to use caution when prescribing these medications for "off-label indications." 

Thumbnail

Researchers develop new algorithm for predicting CIED infections

Healthcare-associated infections are a massive issue, leading to more than 99,000 patient deaths annually in the United States alone, and recent research suggests they are on the rise.

Thumbnail

Transporting cardiac arrest patients to the hospital too early could be a fatal mistake

Survival to hospital discharge and favorable neurological outcomes suffer in instances of intra-arrest patient transport. 

Fitbit gains FDA clearance, CE mark approval for AFib detection app

The app boasts a sensitivity of 98.7% and specificity of 100%.

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.