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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For TAVR patients with AFib, antiplatelet medication linked to poorer outcomes

Oral anticoagulation medication can help minimize bleeding complications among AFib patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), according to new research out of Europe.

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Nearly half of all serious cardiac events among pregnant women with heart disease are preventable

A significant number of life-threatening complications in pregnant women with heart disease could be prevented altogether, according to new findings published by the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

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E-cigarette interferes with user’s implantable cardiac device, creating potential for ‘fatal consequences’

A patient’s e-cigarette interfered with their implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) and prevented the device from properly functioning, according to a new analysis published in HeartRhythm Case Reports.

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How one hospital is perfecting mechanical CPR in the ED

On a biweekly basis, researchers and physicians at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research and North Shore University Hospital in New York gather to watch footage of patient resuscitations.

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Many older AFib patients prescribed inappropriately dosed DOACs

Nearly a quarter of older patients with atrial fibrillation receive inappropriately dosed direct-acting oral anticoagulants, according to an analysis of the ongoing SAGE-AF study.

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Ablation continues to benefit patients with concomitant HF, AFib

A new analysis of the CASTLE-AF trial has found that catheter ablation for AFib remains effective in a much larger group of heart failure patients, cementing evidence first presented in early 2018.

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Researchers ID new protein as contributor to sudden cardiac death

A small-scale study published in Circulation March 3 has revealed a potential new culprit behind sudden cardiac death in patients with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy: integrin β1D.

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New wearable measures CV vitals through 4 layers of clothing—or fur

Researchers at Imperial College London have developed a new type of sensor that can track vital signs in both humans and animals, suggesting the ever-growing wearables trend is expanding to include pets and livestock.

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.