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.

Beta-blockers mitigate emotionally triggered AFib

Heart patients prone to emotionally triggered atrial fibrillation are less likely to experience an arrhythmia if they’re taking beta-blockers, according to a June 3 study published in Heart Rhythm.

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Heart patient gifts Loyola cardiology $1.5M

Former heart patient Donald Scott gifted Loyola Medicine $1.5 million last week as a thank-you for the care he received there when he suffered an arrhythmia, Loyola announced May 31.

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The ‘weekend effect’ doesn’t apply to victims of cardiac arrest

The so-called “weekend effect”—that idea that patients admitted to the hospital on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays face greater odds of readmission down the line—doesn’t apply to victims of cardiac arrest, according to data presented at the British Cardiovascular Society Conference in Manchester June 2.

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Energy drink consumption triggers high BP, electrical abnormalities in heart

Consuming 32 ounces or more of an energy drink within an hour could raise blood pressure and trigger life-threatening arrhythmias, according to research published ahead of print in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Some Canadians waiting more than a year for elective echos

People living in the Canadian province of Manitoba are facing up to 70-week waits for elective echocardiograms, CBC reported May 28—dozens of weeks longer than those living in neighboring Saskatchewan and Ontario provinces.

 

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Women less likely to be resuscitated than men during OHCA

Women are less likely to be resuscitated by bystanders than men in cases of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, and when resuscitation is attempted they see lower survival rates, according to research published in the European Heart Journal May 21.

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Antibacterial envelope cuts risk of CIED infection by 40%

An absorbable, antibiotic-eluting mesh envelope significantly reduced the incidence of major cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED) infections in a recent study of nearly 7,000 patients, researchers reported in the New England Journal of Medicine May 16.

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How to alleviate patient anxiety about ICDs

A six-week online training course centered around living with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) helped alleviate anxiety in heart failure patients who were apprehensive about their devices.

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.