The AFib Educator will provide healthcare professionals with an at-hand resource to help illustrate how AFib affects patients including risks and symptoms.The free app and desktop widget will feature detailed animations of the heart, EKG demos and x-ray images. It will also show patients how AFib impacts the flow of blood between the heart’s chambers as well as electrical impulses.

Sign up to receive notification when the AFib Educator is available for download to your desktop, laptop or smartphone device (iPhone^TM mobile digital format).

Tags: AF Stat, General, Resources, Risk, Symptoms by Mellanie
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At Boston Atrial Fibrillation Symposium 2010, Dr. Andrea Russo talked about gender differences in atrial fibrillation treatment, including catheter ablation, as well as women and the risk of stroke from afib.

Watch the video:

Interview with Dr. Andrea Russo at Boston Atrial Fibrillation Symposium 2010

Tags: Anticoagulation, Catheter ablation, Events, Risk, Stroke, Treatment, Women by Mellanie
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At the recent Boston Atrial Fibrillation Symposium, catheter ablation was presented as possibly a better atrial fibrillation (AF) treatment option for serious and professional athletes than antiarrhythmic drugs (AADs). According to Dr. Riccardo Cappato (Institute Policlinics San Donato, Milan, Italy), antiarrhythmic drug therapy has not been popular with this patient population.”Even when effective, AADs significantly affect an athlete’s physical performance and inhibit eligibility at pre-qualification screenings,” said Dr. Cappato. “Catheter ablation offers an unprecedented opportunity for these athletes to come back to their sport, especially when healthy [pre-participation screening] certificates are required to compete in countries such as mine.”

During the same session, Dr. Stanley Nattel (Montreal Heart Institute, Montreal, Canada) presented a small animal study with rats that suggested that strenuous exercise may have contributed to their development of atrial fibrillation.

To learn more, read: Catheter Ablation May be Better Atrial Fibrillation Treatment than Drugs for Serious and Professional Athletes

Tags: Catheter ablation, Causes or Triggers, Events, Exercise, Prevention, Risk, Treatment by Mellanie
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This very important story may change how afib patients and their doctors decide if they should be on anticoagulant medications (blood thinners), such as Coumadin or warfarin.

The CHADS₂ scoring system is how doctors now decide who should be on Coumadin or warfarin to avoid strokes, but a newly-published study adds new stroke risk factors that are not considered in CHADS₂.

These new risk factors, including being female, having heart or vascular disease, and being age 65 or greater (CHADS₂ uses 75 or greater), have been incorporated in a scoring system called the “2009 Birmingham Schema” (CHA₂DS₂-VASc). This new approach enhances the existing CHADS₂ system, giving two points to definitive stroke risk factors and one point to combination stroke risk factors.

To learn more, read:  New Stroke Risk Factors for Those with Atrial Fibrillation: Female Gender, Heart Disease, and Age

Tags: Anticoagulation, High blood pressure, Medication, Risk, Stroke, Study, Treatment, Women by Mellanie
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Learn more about World Stroke Day and what atrial fibrillation patients need to know about their stroke risk.

Tags: Events, Risk by Mellanie
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Research shows the sooner an atrial fibrillation surgical procedure is done, the less likely afib is to recur. People in permanent atrial fibrillation who underwent surgery for other heart diseases and had a left atrial ablation procedure for AF at the same time were more likely to be afib-free if the procedure was done within two years and their left atrium size was normal.

Study participants had atrial fibrillation procedures concomitant (at the same time) with open-heart mitral valve, aortic valve, or coronary artery bypass surgery. The procedures were done using either microwave or radiofrequency energy.

The study found that afib recurrence was not influenced by age, gender, primary heart disease, history of blood clots, technology, or use of antiarrhythmic drugs.

Read more: Atrial Fibrillation Procedure Within Two Years Reduces Risk of Afib Recurrence

Tags: Cure, Risk, Study, Surgery, Treatment by Mellanie
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In a newly-published study, diabetes was found to be an independent risk factor for atrial fibrillation in women, increasing their risk of afib by 26%. The connection was not as strong for men, who were more at risk of obesity and high blood pressure from diabetes.

Read more: Diabetes Increases a Woman’s Risk of Atrial Fibrillation

Tags: Risk, Women by Mellanie
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There is a lot of concern about the H1N1 flu, commonly called swine flu, especially in light of recent deaths. With word that the vaccine may be delayed to some locations, what can those with atrial fibrillation do in the meantime? One key is in the recent finding that many swine flu deaths are due to secondary bacterial infections, including pneumonia, among those with health issues.

Read more:  Can Pneumonia Vaccine Decrease Swine Flu Risks for Those With Atrial Fibrillation

Tags: Risk, Treatment by Mellanie
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We know that more men than women have atrial fibrillation, but that women have a higher rate of strokes and death. In fact, women account for about 61% of stroke deaths.

Recent research at Rush University Medical Center identified nine specific gender differences between women and men who have atrial fibrillation. Those included that women have a higher incidence of stroke and death, higher risk of life-threatening arrhythmias due to hormones, sensitivity to statin drugs and others, and failure to receive blood thinners (Coumadin®, warfarin) and afib treatments such as ablation. Each difference has implications for the management and treatment of women with atrial fibrillation. Read more at:

Women with Atrial Fibrillation Have a Higher Risk of Stroke and Death

Tags: Risk, Stroke, Treatment, Women by Mellanie
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We continue to learn more about the family connection in atrial fibrillation. A second gene was just found that increases the risk of afib and stroke.

At least one third of those of European descent carry one copy of the newly-discovered variant in the ZFHX3 gene and have a 20% increase in risk of afib and cardioembolic strokes, those that originate from clots from the heart.

These findings will be integrated into DNA testing for atrial fibrillation and stroke risk from deCODE Genetics.

Learn more: Second Gene Identified That Increases Risk of Atrial Fibrillation and Stroke

Tags: Causes or Triggers, Family, Prevention, Risk, Study by Mellanie
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