Atrial Fibrillation
This channel includes news and new technology innovations for the treatment of atrial fibrillation, also referred to as AF or afib. AF is a cardiac arrhythmia caused by irregular and often rapid heart rate. It is caused by the upper chambers (the atria) beating irregularly and uncoordinated with the lower ventricle chambers of of the heart. Symptoms include weakness with heart palpitations and shortness of breath. The conditional can lead to an increased risk of stroke and heart failure. AF episodes can cause the blood in the atria to stagnate and form clots, usually within the left atrial appendage (LAA). The clots can flow to the brain and cause a stroke. Treatments include anticoagulation therapy to dissolve clots, catheter or surgical ablation and LAA occlusion.
Feature | HRS | May 15, 2019 | Dave Fornell, Editor
May 15, 2019 — The Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) had 21 late-breaking study presentations at the 2019 Heart Rhythm...
News | Atrial Fibrillation | May 15, 2019 | Dave Fornell, Editor
May 15, 2019 — Renal artery denervation (RDN) was found to be safe when employed with pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) to...
An screen shot of the Abbott Focal Impulse and Rotor Modulated (FIRM)-guided ablation system used to guide AF ablation procedures.
News | Atrial Fibrillation | May 14, 2019 | Dave Fornell, Editor
May 14, 2019 – The first prospective, multicenter, randomized, controlled trial to compare conventional pulmonary vein...
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OTC ECG devices can help detect abnormal heart rhythms in the general population, and this technology will continue to improve.
Feature | ECG | March 11, 2020
Apple created a stir when it announced in 2018 that its Apple Watch Series 4 was the first consumer health and fitness...
The Parasym Salustim device ear clip stimulates the vagus nerve, which was found to reduced AF burden compared with a sham procedure in the TREAT AF trial.
News | Atrial Fibrillation | May 13, 2019
May 13, 2019 — A randomized clinical trial effectively used nerve stimulation through an ear clip to reduce atrial...
More than 60,000 from the general population in Belgium were screened for AFib using only a smartphone app in the DIGITAL-AF II study. The study used the FibriCheck app found 791 participants has measurements indicative for AF.
News | Atrial Fibrillation | May 13, 2019
May 13, 2019 — A digital screening for atrial fibrillation (AFib or AF) successfully monitored more than 60,000...
A CyberHeart cardiac ablation radiotherapy treatment plan showing where the radiation beams will ablate for a noninvasive pulmonary vein isolation procedure to treat an arrhythmia.
Feature | Ablation Systems | May 10, 2019 | Dave Fornell, Editor
May 10, 2019 — Radiation oncology vendor Varian announced it acquired the start-up company CyberHeart, which has...
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Several wearable, less-obtrusive ECG monitors have been cleared by the FDA for longer wear. This example is Cardiac Insight’s Cardea SOLO device.
Feature | ECG | February 19, 2020
When the patients of Michael Boler, M.D. need cardiac monitoring, the Holter monitor is no longer his first choice. “...
News | EP Mapping and Imaging Systems | May 09, 2019
May 9, 2019 — Philips announced a collaboration with Medtronic to further advance treatment of paroxysmal atrial...
News | Ablation Systems | May 08, 2019
May 8, 2019 — Even though many medical practitioners may opt not to perform procedures on higher-risk patients, new...
Videos | Left Atrial Appendage (LAA) Occluders | April 25, 2019
This video offers an overview of the Watchman left atrial appendage (LAA) occluder system, including information of its...
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Use of traditional Holter monitor leads can be an issue for patient compliance and comfort. The newer generation ambulatory cardiac monitors use a small, adhesive patch that sticks directly on the patient's chest and allows them to shower and go about daily activities without a belt mounted monitor or leads getting in the way. This is especially important for longer term monitoring of seven days or longer.
Feature | ECG | September 27, 2018
Advances in the technology of wearable cardiac monitors are improving both the experience of the patient and the...
News | Ablation Systems | April 16, 2019
April 16, 2019 — CardioFocus Inc. announced the European CE Mark approval of the HeartLight X3 Endoscopic Ablation...
Videos | Wearables | March 26, 2019
Khaldoun Tarakji, M.D., MPH, staff physician in the Section of Electrophysiology and Pacing in the Robert and Suzanne...
Videos | Atrial Fibrillation | March 21, 2019
Christine Albert, M.D., MPH, director of the Center for Arrhythmia Prevention at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and...
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An example of the new generation of cardiac monitoring device that is replacing Holter monitoring is the Cardea Solo wearable sensor. The FDA-cleared device automatically analyzes data when the device is turned back into the physician's office and automatically produces a draft summary report. This technology can simplify the workflow by eliminating the need for third-party involvement.
Feature | Atrial Fibrillation | September 13, 2018
Rapid advances in technology to monitor atrial fibrillation (AF or Afib) are enabling clinicians to access real-time...
News | Antiplatelet and Anticoagulation Therapies | March 19, 2019
March 19, 2019 — The Bristol-Myers Squibb-Pfizer Alliance announced results from the Phase 4 AUGUSTUS trial evaluating...
The opening late-breaking trial at ACC 2019 is the Apple Heart Study, a large-scale, app-based study to identify atrial fibrillation using a smartwatch. Earlier, smaller trials showed this approach might be used in a population health application to proactively identify AFib patients earlier.
Feature | ACC | March 19, 2019
The American College of Cardiology (ACC) released a list of the latest practice-changing presentations at the ACC.19...
News | Wearables | March 18, 2019
March 18, 2019 — Researchers from the Stanford University School of Medicine presented preliminary results of the Apple...
