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

Researchers: Online ICD message board littered with inaccuracies

Only half of medical advice on an online message board dedicated to implanted cardiac defibrillators (ICDs) appears to be accurate, according to preliminary research presented April 7 at the American Heart Association’s Quality of Care and Outcomes Research Scientific Sessions 2018.

Thumbnail

AFib ablation strategies for ‘normal’ hearts also work for CHD survivors

Atrial fibrillation (AFib) ablation techniques used on individuals without cardiac abnormalities can be safely applied to adults with congenital heart disease (CHD), according to a new study in JACC: Clinical Electrophysiology. But in many cases, multiple ablation procedures are needed to boost the chances of arrhythmia-free survival.

Thumbnail

Ablation procedure burns away puppy’s heart arrhythmia

A 6-month-old German Shepherd was the beneficiary of a successful cardiac ablation at Cornell University Hospital for Animals, one of only two centers in the U.S. that regularly offers the procedure for dogs.

AFib after CABG linked to minimal long-term stroke risk

Patients who developed new-onset postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery showed a 33 percent reduced risk of thromboembolism long-term when compared to those with nonsurgical AFib, according to a study published March 28 in JAMA Cardiology.

BioSig Announces Submission of FDA 510(k) Application for PURE EP(TM) System

Santa Monica, CA, March 28, 2018 — BioSig Technologies, Inc. (OTCQB: BSGM) announced that the Company has filed 510(k) application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its first product, PURE EP(TM) System.

Thumbnail

Depression may increase the risk for AFib

New research presented at the American Heart Association’s Epidemiology and Prevention | Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health Scientific Sessions 2018 suggests individuals with depression may have an increased risk of developing atrial fibrillation (AFib).

ICD implantation boosts survival after cardiac arrests with reversible causes

Current clinical guidelines recommend implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) in survivors of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), except when the cause of the SCA is deemed reversible. But a new study in Circulation: Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology demonstrates that many of these patients gain a survival benefit from ICDs as well.

Thumbnail

Apixaban equally safe as warfarin for anticoagulation during AFib ablation

Continuous anticoagulation with apixaban during atrial fibrillation (AFib) ablation was found to be as safe as warfarin and other vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) in a randomized trial of 633 patients.

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.