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.

BioTelemetry, Inc. Enters Agreement to Provide Cardiac Monitoring for Apple’s Heart Study

BioTelemetry, Inc., the leading mobile and wireless medical technology company focused on the delivery of health information to improve quality of life and reduce cost of care, announced today a partnership with Apple to provide cardiac monitoring services in conjunction with the Apple Heart Study.

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A smile—even a fake one—reduces heart rate, blood pressure

Flashing a smile—even if it’s forced—tricks the brain into believing you’re happy, triggering a multitude of health benefits, according to an NBC report.

MedLumics Appoints Medtech Industry Veterans James Greene as Chief Executive Officer and Giovanni Leo as Member of the Board of Directors

MADRID — Nov. 28, 2017 — MedLumics, a medical device company developing an optically guided cardiac ablation platform for the treatment of Atrial fibrillation (AF), announced today it has appointed James Greene as Chief Executive Officer and named Giovanni Leo to the board of directors.

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Study supports longer arrhythmia detection intervals for single-chamber ICDs

Patients with single-chamber (VVI) implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) programmed with longer intervals for detecting arrhythmias experienced significant reductions in appropriate therapies, shocks and all-cause mortality when compared to patients with standardly programmed ICDs, according to a study published online Nov. 20 in JACC: Clinical Electrophysiology.

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Athletes more likely to experience sudden cardiac arrest during racing, soccer, hockey

The incidence of young athletes experiencing sudden cardiac arrest during competitive sporting events is slim—just 0.76 cases in 100,000 athlete-years—but it does happen, according to one team of Canadian researchers who analyzed dozens of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in an effort to dissect the underlying causes of these tragedies.

Azure(TM) with BlueSync(TM) Technology Improves Device Longevity and Provides Automatic, Wireless Remote Patient Monitoring

DUBLIN — November 20, 2017 — Medtronic plc (NYSE: MDT) today announced U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval and U.S. commercial launch for its portfolio of Azure(TM) pacemakers with BlueSync(TM)technology.

German team maps 1st-ever proteome of the human heart

The first-ever proteome of the healthy human heart is complete, a team at the Technical University of Munich has reported—thanks to the successful logging of nearly 11,000 proteins and billions of cells.

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Innovations in heart tech: 5 things standing between now and better medical technology

From pocket-sized electrocardiograms to watches that measure blood glucose levels, the field of medical technology is rapidly evolving. But these innovations, though oftentimes successful, aren’t necessarily living up to what scientists want them to be, according to presenters at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2017.

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.