The lifetime cumulative risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD) is much higher in black patients than in whites, according to an analysis of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study published in Circulation Feb. 4.

Researchers from the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College have developed a dime-sized innovation they claim converts the heart’s energy into electricity to power implantable devices like pacemakers and defibrillators, potentially saving cardiovascular patients the time, money and stress of repeat surgery.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is rare during dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE), a routine exam for assessing coronary ischemia, but elderly patients and those with a history of paroxysmal AF are at an increased risk for arrhythmia during the test, a team of researchers from Boulogne, France, reported.

A Journal of the American Heart Association study focused on the programming safety of cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) suggests the publication of clinically meaningful trial results and professional recommendations translates poorly into real-world practice, penetrating just a fraction of a field that might benefit from added guidance.

Stryker announced on Feb. 1 it is voluntarily recalling certain Lifepak 15 monitor/defibrillators over an issue which may cause the devices to lock up and not deliver potentially life-saving therapy. The company reported there have been six patient deaths after delays in therapy related to this problem.

Cancer patients who experienced tachycardia within one year of being diagnosed carried higher mortality rates up to a decade later—even after adjusting for clinical characteristics and medication use—according to research presented Jan. 25 at the Advancing the Cardiovascular Care of the Oncology Patient conference.

Breast cancer patients under 60 years old are nearly twice as likely as their healthy counterparts to develop both short- and long-term atrial fibrillation (AF), researchers reported Jan. 29 in Heart Rhythm.

Non-vitamin K oral anticoagulants (NOACs) including dabigatran, rivaroxaban, apixaban and edoxaban have replaced warfarin as the preferred treatment for reducing stroke risk in patients with atrial fibrillation, according to updated guidelines issued Jan. 28.