The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) Advisory Committee just voted 9-2, with 1 abstaining, to recommend that the FDA approve rivaroxaban (Xarelto) for prevention of atrial fibrillation strokes. See our full story, now up at: FDA Panel Votes for Rivaroxaban: Atrial Fibrillation Patients May Soon Have Two Alternatives to Warfarin for Stroke Prevention
Rivaroxaban (Xarelto) Effective for Atrial Fibrillation Patients with High Stroke Risk
Just ahead of the FDA Advisory Committee hearing on rivaroxaban for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation, we report in more depth on the ROCKET-AF trial results published recently in the New England Journal of Medicine. Rivaroxaban was shown to be as effective as warfarin (Coumadin) for stroke prevention in a high-risk afib population. To learn [...]
What Everyone with Atrial Fibrillation Should Know about Multaq (dronedarone)
As a patient, you probably see lots of hype-filled reports about various drugs. After a drug is approved, there’s an inevitable blitz of negative publicity which often scares people away from important new solutions that could help them. There has been so much news lately about Multaq (dronedarone), the drug designed to provide the benefits [...]
Dr. Elaine Hylek on Xarelto and Pradaxa, New Alternatives to Warfarin (Coumadin) — Video
The US FDA has just announced that on September 8, 2011, the FDA Cardiovascular and Renal Drugs Advisory Committee will meet to review whether to recommend approval of rivaroxaban (brand name Xarelto), an alternative to warfarin, for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation. In this recent video interview, Dr. Elaine Hylek, a leading anticoagulant authority, discussed [...]
Atrial Fibrillation Stroke Risk Decreases from Radiofrequency (RF) Catheter Ablation
A study presented at the recent American College of Cardiology Scientific Sessions by Dr. Matthew Reynolds of the Harvard Clinical Research Institute showed that having a radiofrequency (RF) catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation could reduce the risk of stroke by 40% compared to those who did not have an ablation. To learn more, see: Radiofrequency [...]
Guest Post by Dr. John Mandrola: More Dabigatran (Pradaxa) News
Dr. John Mandrola shares a great update on the latest info regarding dabigatran (Pradaxa, Pradax). Dr. Mandrola not only treats atrial fibrillation patients, but he has also experienced afib himself. I have become an AF-doctor. That means my most exciting aspect of medicine is terminating AF with watts delivered through a catheter. “Got it.” In [...]
Dr. Matthew Reynolds on Quality of Life From AF Ablation vs. Antiarrhythmic Drugs — Video
In this video, Dr. Matthew Reynolds, of the Harvard Clinical Research Institute, discussed his quality of life findings from use of catheter ablation and antiarrhythmic drugs for treatment of atrial fibrillation. He analyzed quality of life data that was collected as part of the THERMOCOOL catheter trial in which catheter ablation was found to be [...]
CHADS2 Scores May Understate Atrial Fibrillation Stroke Risk
New research from Denmark shows that CHADS2 underestimates stroke risk. In the study, atrial fibrillation patients who were at intermediate risk with the CHADS2 scoring system had more than twice the stroke rate of those defined by the enhanced CHA2DS2-VASc tool as being at intermediate risk. While CHADS2 deemed 32.3% of patients to have intermediate [...]
Dr. Ken Ellenbogen Talks about Fish Oil for Atrial Fibrillation and Stroke Prevention Drugs — Video
In this video, Dr. Kenneth Ellenbogen talks about important information presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2010. First he talked about the ROCKET AF clinical trial of rivaroxaban, a new drug that is an alternative to warfarin (Coumadin), as well as another alternative, the recently-approved dabigatran. He provided scenarios as to how these drugs [...]
2010 Most Popular Atrial Fibrillation News Stories and Videos
StopAfib.org has published the 2010 Most Popular Atrial Fibrillation News Stories and Videos List. Stroke prevention topped the list and included stories about warfarin (Coumadin) and alternatives such as dabigatran (Pradaxa) and rivaroxaban (Xarelto). Other popular topics included the new European atrial fibrillation guidelines, new antiarrhythmic medications, updates on catheter ablation and afib surgery, and [...]
