At Boston Atrial Fibrillation Symposium 2012, Dr. Hugh Calkins, electrophysiologist at Johns Hopkins, presented the new 2012 HRS/EHRA/ECAS Expert Consensus Statement on Catheter and Surgical Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation, which will replace the original guidelines that were published in 2007. Instead of simply rewriting sections that have changed, the writing committee, which was made up [...]
Boston Atrial Fibrillation Symposium 2012 Recap and Notes – Guest Posts by Dr. John Mandrola
Dr. John Mandrola, a cardiac electrophysiologist in Louisville, Kentucky, who blogs at Dr. John M, live-blogged the 2012 Boston Atrial Fibrillation Symposium. He has given us permission to reprint his blog posts for the afib community. You will find them here: Recap of Boston Atrial Fibrillation Symposium 2012 – Guest Posts by Dr. John Mandrola [...]
Mini Maze Procedure May Be a Good Option for Atrial Fibrillation Patients Who Have Failed Catheter Ablation
Results from FAST, the first-ever randomized trial to compare the effectiveness of minimally invasive surgical ablation (also called the mini maze procedure) for atrial fibrillation and catheter ablation for afib, were presented at the recent American Heart Association meeting. The FAST study enrolled patients who had failed a previous catheter ablation procedure. The minimally invasive [...]
Stuck in the Middle: Afib Patients on Rate Control, from EP Lab Digest January, 2012
Our January EP Lab Digest Patient Perspective column, Stuck in the Middle: Afib Patients on Rate Control, focuses on how rate control treatment (such as beta blockers) alone impacts the quality of life of those living with atrial fibrillation. The column also explores things doctors and patients may wish to consider in determining an appropriate [...]
Top Atrial Fibrillation (Afib) Articles of 2011
In follow up to our announcement yesterday of the Top Ten Atrial Fibrillation Videos of 2011, StopAfib.org now unveils the Top Ten Atrial Fibrillation Articles of 2011. Major topics of interest to the atrial fibrillation patient community this year were afib stroke prevention and the CHADS2 and CHA2DS2-VASc scoring tools that determine the need for [...]
Top Atrial Fibrillation (Afib) Videos of 2011
StopAfib.org has announced the Top Ten Atrial Fibrillation Videos of 2011. Afib stroke prevention again topped the list, with stories about warfarin (Coumadin), alternatives such as dabigatran (Pradaxa) and rivaroxaban (Xarelto), and the CHADS2 and CHA2DS2-VASc scoring tools for determining whether anticoagulants are needed. Other popular topics included sleep apnea, catheter ablation, and maze procedures (surgical [...]
High Success Rates for Atrial Fibrillation Focal and Rotor Catheter Ablations — Video with Dr. Sanjiv Narayan
At the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2011, Dr. Sanjiv Narayan presented the high success rate of the FIRM trial of focal and rotor catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation. Watch the video at: Atrial Fibrillation Focal and Rotor Catheter Ablations Show High Success Rates — Video Interview with Dr. Sanjiv Narayan About the FIRM Trial
Women Have Different Atrial Fibrillation Ablation Results from Men — Video Interview with Dr. John Mandrola
At the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2011, Dr. John Mandrola presented a poster on gender-specific results of atrial fibrillation ablation in a private practice setting. In this video interview with him about the poster, he mentioned that in his experience women appear to be more challenging to treat with atrial fibrillation ablation and do [...]
Can Contact Force Sensing or Laser Balloon Decrease Atrial Fibrillation Ablation Failures?
While catheter ablation has been proven more effective at stopping atrial fibrillation than antiarrhythmic drugs, pulmonary veins may reconnect and atrial fibrillation may return, causing the catheter ablation to fail. At the recent Heart Rhythm Society meeting, Dr. Vivek Reddy, Director of Cardiac Arrhythmia Services at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York City, presented clinical [...]
Multiple Stepwise Catheter Ablation Procedures Often Needed for Persistent Atrial Fibrillation
Data presented at the recent 2011 Heart Rhythm Society meeting in San Francisco regarding the effectiveness of catheter ablation for treatment of persistent atrial fibrillation suggests that multiple procedures may be needed. Dr. Thomas Rostock presented data on 395 patients (261 with persistent atrial fibrillation and 134 with longstanding persistent afib) who had stepwise ablation [...]
