Electrophysiology & Arrhythmia

A catheter ablation protocol for atrial fibrillation (AFib) including only “the bare essentials” of the procedure delivered similar outcomes as a more involved strategy featuring pulmonary vein mapping, according to research presented at EHRA 2019.

A remote monitoring protocol for heart failure patients with implantable electronic devices helped more of them stay out of the hospital over a one-year period than standard in-person visits, researchers reported at EHRA 2019.

NEW ORLEANS — An antithrombotic regimen of apixaban plus a P2Y12 inhibitor such as clopidogrel lowered bleeding events and hospitalizations compared to warfarin plus clopidogrel in a cohort of patients with atrial fibrillation (AFib) and a recent acute coronary syndrome (ACS), according to results of the AUGUSTUS trial.

The Apple Watch’s FDA-cleared electrocardiogram (ECG) feature has already helped some people uncover undiagnosed atrial fibrillation, leading to necessary medical treatment. But cardiologists fear false positives may be the more common occurrence in low-risk individuals, potentially leading to unnecessary testing and emotional strain in those users, according to Politico.

Electrocardiograms (ECG) acquired using a chest strap could be a quality alternative to traditional ECGs when used to diagnose atrial fibrillation (AF), researchers reported in the American Journal of Cardiology.

A study published Feb. 14 in the American Journal of Cardiology suggests obese patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) fare better in terms of mortality and stroke events than their non-obese counterparts—a finding that’s in line with the much-contested “obesity paradox."

Black Medicare beneficiaries with implanted cardiac devices (ICDs) face a lower risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) than their white counterparts, despite a higher overall burden of vascular risk factors and a greater risk of stroke, researchers reported Feb. 11 in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

His-optimized cardiac resynchronization therapy successfully narrowed QRS duration, improved left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction and heightened functionality in 27 patients with advanced heart failure (HF), according to a study published in Circulation: Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology.

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.