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Examining long-term outcomes for people with atrial fibrillation (AF), the most common heart rhythm disorder, a new study found that 55% survived to 10 years. The researchers say AF needs to be treated as a chronic illness with serious long-term consequences. AF, or AFib, and its close medical cousin, atrial flutter, are associated with complications such as stroke, heart failure, and heart attack. While there’s an understandable focus on treating these conditions to prevent acute complications, less research has looked at what’s happening in the long term. Now, a study led by researchers from the University of Queensland’s (UQ) Faculty...

When Dr. David Kao tells patients they have atrial fibrillation, their first question is usually "Do I have to give up coffee?" His answer often surprises them: No. "Because it's a stimulant, they feel their heart is going to race and be worse off, especially when you have an arrhythmia like atrial fibrillation," said Dr. José Joglar. "But it's not in the science." Joglar was the lead author of new guidelines from the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association on diagnosing and treating atrial fibrillation, or AFib, published recently in Circulation. Among the detailed discussions of lifestyle...

A large, population-based study of patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and valvular heart disease (VHD) found that use of apixaban was associated with a lower rate of ischemic stroke or systemic embolism and a lower rate of intracranial or gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding compared with rivaroxaban. The authors say clinicians should consider these findings when selecting anticoagulants in this patient population. The study is published in Annals of Internal Medicine. VHD is common among patients with AF. The presence of VHD increases the risk for death, major adverse cardiovascular events, and major bleeding. Despite the common use of apixaban and rivaroxaban...

researchers have identified a common diabetes medication, metformin, as a possible treatment for atrial fibrillation. The study built on ongoing research to support metformin as a drug repurposing candidate. Researchers used advanced computation and genetic sequencing to determine that metformin's targets overlap significantly with genes dysregulated in atrial fibrillation. "Finding drugs or procedures to treat atrial fibrillation is difficult because of potential serious side effects," said Mina Chung, M.D. "There is a significant need for new treatments for atrial fibrillation as there have been no new drugs approved in more than a decade." "It's not that we've found a new...

A study of persons with incident atrial fibrillation (AF) has found that AF after noncardiac surgery is common and comprises 13 percent of all new AF diagnoses. Postoperative AF is also associated with similar risk for stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) and death as AF unrelated to surgery. AF occurring after noncardiac surgery may be triggered by perioperative stress and systemic inflammation in patients with predisposing comorbidities. For those who develop AF within 30 days of surgery, AF often recurs during subsequent follow-up and carries increased risks for thromboembolism and death compared with patients who had surgery but did...

Results from one of the largest global studies of atrial fibrillation (AFib) procedures show that the simple approach is usually best when it comes to ablation, a procedure where physicians destroy or ablate cardiac tissue to correct irregular heart rhythms. Researchers found that using advanced image-guided technology to more aggressively target diseased areas of the heart that cause arrythmias didn't lead to better outcomes for patients. "Simplicity is key. Don't ablate too much, especially at advanced stages," said lead author Dr. Nassir Marrouche. "Too much ablation is not helping our patients today. It is putting them at higher risk. This...

ORLANDO – People with an excessive blood level of vitamin D from overdosing with supplements had a 2.5-fold increased incidence of atrial fibrillation(A Fib), based on a study of 132,000 residents of Utah and southeastern Idaho. The finding "suggests the need for caution with vitamin D supplementation and the need for careful assessment of serum levels if high doses [of vitamin D] are used," Megan B. Smith said at the annual scientific sessions of the American Heart Association. The finding also suggests that patients identified with new-onset atrial fibrillation should be evaluated for a possible extremely high vitamin D level,...

Grammy award-winning musician Barry Manilow told The Daily Caller that he agrees with “just about everything” 2012 Republican presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul says, calling him a “solid” contender for the highest office in the land. “I like him. I like what he says, I do. I like what he says. I think he’s solid,” said Manilow, who confirmed to TheDC in an interview at the Capitol on Thursday that he contributed to Paul’s last campaign for president. “I agree with just about everything he says. What can I tell you?” Manilow added.

Study: Women With Diabetes May Be 26% More Likely Than Other Women to Develop Atrial Fibrillation Reviewed By Laura J. Martin, MDWomen with diabetes may be 26% more likely than other women to develop a heart rhythm problem called atrial fibrillation.Researchers report that news in the October edition of Diabetes Care.Data came from more than 34,000 adults who got their health care through Kaiser Permanente Northwest. The group included 17,000 diabetes patients.When the study started, atrial fibrillation was more common in diabetes patients than in people without diabetes, affecting 3.6% of the diabetes patients, compared to 2.5% of those without...

AP SCIENCE WRITER WASHINGTON -- Despite the heart problem of the man wounded by Vice President Dick Cheney, doctors say removing the shotgun pellet from his chest probably won't be necessary - and digging it out could do more harm than good. It's not unusual to live with shrapnel or other foreign objects in the body, even the heart, and specialists said it's likely the pellet will scar over rapidly without causing further problems for Texas lawyer Harry Whittington. Hospital officials in Corpus Christi announced Tuesday that Whittington had suffered a "minor heart attack" and was returned to the intensive...

President George W. Bush apparently is using a LifeVest wearable defibrillator. This would mean he is at risk of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) or sudden cardiac death (SCD). The LiveVest is a wearable version of "the paddles" you have seen in emergency room scenes on TV. He started using it sometime after his January 2002 fainting spell, which was attributed to choking. Photos of Mr. Bush and the device seem to show that this is the mysterious bulge seen on his back in the debates. The first graphic is a back view showing the two large electrodes that are equivalent...