Atrial fibrillation took center stage in a feature story in Tuesday’s Washington Post. The article not only looked at treatment for atrial fibrillation, but also at what afib does to patients. The atrial fibrillation experiences of Mellanie True Hills, founder of StopAfib.org, were included in this story.
Read more at:
Doctors are trying to identify the characteristics that predict which patients aren’t likely to be successful with a catheter ablation for their atrial fibrillation. At a session at the recent Heart Rhythm Society annual meeting, some of the factors discussed included left atrial size, left atrial volume, left ventricle dysfunction (improper functioning of the left ventricle), time spent in afib, and extensive atrial fibrosis.
An important session at Heart Rhythm Society 2010 was “Medical Issues After Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation and Flutter.” It dealt with what constitutes success following catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation (afib) and atrial flutter, and which is more important, the medical definition or the patient’s definition.
Which definition is used can have implications for treatment following catheter ablation. This session explored those issues, including the blanking period, repeat ablations, monitoring for asymptomatic events, and anticoagulation to deal with stroke risk.
Read: What is Catheter Ablation Success and What are the Implications
In this video interview, Dr. Nassir Marrouche, Executive Director of the Comprehensive Arrhythmia Research and Management (CARMA) Center at the University of Utah Health System, discusses the findings he recently presented at the Heart Rhythm Society annual meeting in Denver. He discussed the intriguing way they are using MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), to personalize atrial fibrillation (AF) treatment by determining the degree of atrial fibrosis in the atrium to determine whether catheter ablation is likely to work. Since the extent of atrial fibrosis also correlates with stroke risk, this “staging” approach also can dictate whether anticoagulation is needed following the procedure.
The effectiveness of this Utah AF staging system will be tested through a multicenter clinical trial involving Cleveland Clinic, Mayo Clinic, the University of Pennsylvania, Loyola, CHU Bordeaux, and a number of other centers around the world.
Watch the video:
Interview with Dr. Nassir Marrouche on Personalized Atrial Fibrillation Treatment Through “Staging”
At Heart Rhythm 2010 in Denver recently, a session on demographic factors influencing atrial fibrillation management and outcomes featured the following research findings:
Read about these research findings at: Race and Gender Issues Influencing Atrial Fibrillation Management — News from Heart Rhythm 2010
At Heart Rhythm Society 2010, we saw intriguing new research into personalized afib treatment and stroke prevention that was presented by Dr. Nassir Marrouche and Dr. Marcos Daccarett of the Comprehensive Arrhythmia Research and Management (CARMA) Center at the University of Utah Health System.
They have developed a way, using MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), to personalize atrial fibrillation (AF) treatment by “staging”, which determines whether catheter ablation will likely stop the afib based on the degree of fibrosis in the atrium. The extent of atrial fibrosis also was found to correlate with stroke risk. The stage indicates appropriate catheter ablation treatment and whether anticoagulation is needed following the procedure. The researchers indicated that the best results come from intervening early into atrial fibrillation.
To further validate the effectiveness of the Utah AF staging system, they have initiated a multi-center clinical trial that will involve a number of centers worldwide, including Cleveland Clinic, Mayo Clinic, Loyola, the University of Pennsylvania, and CHU Bordeaux.
Read more: Personalized Atrial Fibrillation Treatment Using New Method to “Stage” AF
In this video interview at Boston Atrial Fibrillation Symposium, Dr. Peter Kowey, President of the Main Line Health Heart Center, talked about a number of exciting new things in the atrial fibrillation world. His topics included the Cabana clinical trials, the Safari catheter ablation registry, dronedarone as a replacement for amiodarone, atrial selective drugs, and coming replacements for Coumadin (warfarin).
Watch the video:
Interview with Dr. Peter Kowey at Boston Atrial Fibrillation Symposium
One of the most common questions we get centers around the use of anticoagulant drugs—either the brand drug, Coumadin, or the generic version, warfarin—and whether or not an atrial fibrillation patient should be on them. Anticoagulants decrease stroke risk, but can also increase bleeding risk. How do you sort it all out? It’s just as frustrating for our doctors as it is for us.
A new tool, called “HAS-BLED”, may help. Used in conjunction with CHADS2 scores, it can help doctors assess our risks and determine whether or not we should be on anticoagulants.
Read more about this new tool at: New “HAS-BLED” Tool Identifies Those with Atrial Fibrillation at Risk for Bleeding From Coumadin or Warfarin
New studies from the Mayo Clinic and the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) show that African Americans are less likely to know they have atrial fibrillation or to be treated with anticoagulants to prevent afib-related strokes, and that stroke deaths are higher among blacks throughout the U.S. and southerners in eight “stroke belt” states.
These eight southeastern stroke belt states are Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Stroke rates were highest in the three “stroke buckle” states, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.
These studies, presented at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference 2010, provide the first national data on racial and regional disparities in atrial fibrillation awareness and treatment and stroke incidence.
Read more: Racial and Regional Disparities in Atrial Fibrillation Treatment and Stroke Prevention
New research from Dr. Andrea Natale and colleagues on gender disparities in atrial fibrillation points out that women with afib are less likely to have catheter ablation treatment than men. When they do have atrial fibrillation catheter ablations, they tend to be older and sicker, meaning that they are more likely to have persistent or long-standing persistent atrial fibrillation instead of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. In addition, they tend to have had more failed antiarrhythmic drugs and end up having more complications from catheter ablation than men.
Copyright © 2008-10 AtrialFibrillationBlog.com. Sponsored by 
. Design by Anthony Baggett.
