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.

New-look catheter system shows potential to boost cardiac care

The new balloon catheter system provides real-time feedback during minimally invasive surgeries and ablations. 

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Why early rhythm control therapy is so important for atrial fibrillation patients

The research team's findings were presented at ESC Congress 2020 and published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

AFib rates continue to rise, especially among older patients

The study's authors tracked EHR data of more than 500,000 patients from a single health system in Pennsylvania. 

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Cardiologist may have just saved the 2020 college football season

Michael Ackerman, MD, PhD, spoke to Big 12 representatives at length about COVID-19, myocarditis and how playing games may impact the safety of college athletes.

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Many cardiac arrest deaths actually the result of an overdose

The team behind the analysis explored autopsies, toxicology reports, medication lists and prior health records for its research. 

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Atrial fibrillation outcomes have improved, but more work is still necessary to ‘stem the epidemic’

Researchers explored 43 years of data from the Framingham Heart Study.

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Big Ten, Pac-12 cancel 2020 season due to concerns over COVID-19, myocarditis

At this rate, will there be a 2020 college football season at all?

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New 4D imaging technique could improve cardiac arrest outcomes

The team was able to generate 4D models that show exactly what occurs to a person’s heart during CPR, converting multiple 3D images into movie-like sequences.

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.