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.

RSS icon
Thumbnail

Booze makes your heart race. Can it also trigger arrhythmias?

Higher alcohol consumption was linked to faster and faster heart rates in a study of more than 3,000 people attending the Munich Oktoberfest.

Study Shows Positive Results with Medtronic Cryoballoon for Patients with Persistent Atrial Fibrillation

DUBLIN and BARCELONA, Spain - MARCH 19, 2018 - Medtronic plc (NYSE: MDT) today announced one-year results from the CRYO4PERSISTENT AF study of ablation with the Arctic Front Advance(TM) Cryoballoon to isolate the pulmonary veins in patients with symptomatic persistent atrial fibrillation (AF).

Thumbnail

Self-applied chest patch monitors irregular heartbeat in AFib patients

A chest patch that records heartbeat patterns could potentially be a better detector of atrial fibrillation (AFib) and subsequently can expedite more timely treatment than traditional treatment, according to new research presented at the American College of Cardiology's 67th Annual Scientific Session.

Thumbnail

VEST trial falls short, fails to reduce sudden death rates with wearable defibrillator

The VEST study—an effort to reduce post-myocardial infarction (MI) mortality and one of ACC 18’s most anticipated clinical trials—failed to meet its primary endpoint of reducing sudden death due to ventricular arrhythmias, study leader Jeffrey Olgin, MD, announced to a crowd of thousands following ACC’s opening ceremony Saturday.

Electrophysiology pioneer Arthur J. Moss dies at 86

Arthur J. Moss, MD, known in the cardiology field for his extensive research in diagnosing and treating long QT syndrome (LQTS), died of cancer Feb. 14 at his home in Brighton, New York. He was 86.

Thumbnail

Class I recall issued for 21 Medtronic CRT-Ds, ICDs

The FDA announced on Feb. 26 a Class I recall for nine of Medtronic's cardiac resynchronization therapy with defibrillation (CRT-D) devices and 12 of its implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs). Due to a manufacturing defect, a gas mixture can enter the devices and hamper their ability to provide shock therapy.

Thumbnail

AHA: High-frequency, low-dose CPR training best for skill retention

The American Heart Association (AHA) believes an additional 50,000 lives per year could be saved if all hospitals in the United States adopted its Resuscitation Quality Improvement (RQI) program.

Thumbnail

Likelihood of cardiac devices being hacked is low—but stakeholders should remain vigilant

The clinical benefit patients gain from remote monitoring with implantable electronic devices far outweighs the risk of the devices being hacked, according to a paper published Feb. 20 by the American College of Cardiology’s Electrophysiology Council.

Displaying 745 - 752 of 1669

Around the web

Health Imaging
Use of AI opportunistic screening in CT for cardiovascular disease

Ron Blankstein, MD, professor of radiology, Harvard Medical School, explains the use of artificial intelligence to detect heart disease in non-cardiac CT exams.

Health Imaging
New imaging protocols proposed to curb rise of cardiovascular infections

Eleven medical societies have signed on to a consensus statement aimed at standardizing imaging for suspected cardiovascular infections.