World Stroke Day is being observed on October 29th and focuses on preventing the silent strokes that occur five times as often as conventional strokes.
Read: October 29 is World Stroke Day
If you have atrial fibrillation, please re-examine your stroke risk, or arrange to review it with your doctor, as things may have changed. You may now be more at risk for stroke, which could change whether or not you need to be on Coumadin (warfarin).
Recently there have been a number of new beta blocker and heart rate studies, some of which are contradictory. The findings from some of these recent studies may apply to those with atrial fibrillation:
Read about these studies at: Heart Rate and Beta Blocker Studies That May Impact Those with Atrial Fibrillation
USA Weekend HealthSmart edition features a story about Mellanie True Hills, founder of StopAfib.org, in which she talks about living with atrial fibrillation and communicating electronically with her surgeon before and after her mini-maze surgery.
Read: USA Weekend Talks About Atrial Fibrillation and Mini-Maze Surgery…
What are your thoughts on the role that electronic communications should play in your communications with your doctors? Please share your comments here at the Atrial Fibrillation Blog.
A study in the October 15 issue of JAMA indicates that reducing how often a patient receives amiodarone for atrial fibrillation does not decrease side effects, but does increase atrial fibrillation recurrence and the risk of death and hospitalizations.
Read: Continuous use of amiodarone for atrial fibrillation better than episodic use
The NY Times has a fascinating story about Elderspeak and how it can jeopardize your health. Read more, including what it means for those with atrial fibrillation, at
Speak Up to Get the Atrial Fibrillation Treatment You Deserve
Then please come back over here to the blog and post your comments below. I am confident that there will be lots of opinions on this one.
Since many who have atrial fibrillation also have high blood pressure, this interesting new study out of Vanderbilt University Medical Center may be of value to know about.
This study finds that, contrary to the current U.S. hypertension guidelines, thiazide diuretics need to be combined with “potassium-sparing” drugs to reduce sudden cardiac death risk.
Read Caution for Those Being Treated for High Blood Pressure
A recent study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology evaluated 137 patients who had undergone closure or removal of the left atrial appendage (LAA) during maze or mini maze surgery and found a high failure rate and that surgical LAA closure may not always protect against blood clots or strokes.
Read more at Left Atrial Appendage Removal May Not Always Prevent Stroke…
Lately there have been questions, comments, and requests for atrial fibrillation information that already exists in the StopAfib.org news story archives.
So with September being Atrial Fibrillation Month, it seems appropriate to call attention to the important afib documents and stories in our News archives. You’ll generally find there stories that are more than 3 months old.
Go to StopAfib.org Archived News Stories…
You may want to peruse many of the stories there. I’d especially like to call your attention to two of the most important documents for anyone with afib — you will find them both at the bottom of the page as they were our first news stories:
The first document is important for all afib patients, and the second is important for anyone considering catheter ablation, maze surgery, or mini maze surgery now or in the future.
On another subject, thanks for your help in spreading the word in September that it is Atrial Fibrillation Month by sending friends and family to:
At StopAfib.org, we asked Dr. Lishan Aklog, Chief of Cardiovascular Surgery at The Heart and Lung Institute of St. Joseph’s Hospital in Phoenix, to address an atrial fibrillation patient question regarding the use of amiodarone for mini maze surgery. You will find his answer here:
FAQ: Dr. Lishan Aklog Addresses Patient Question on Whether to Use Amiodarone for Mini Maze Surgery
I talk a lot in speeches, programs, and articles about the financial toll that atrial fibrillation takes on us and our families.
A new study from The Commonwealth Fund reinforces the burden of rising medical costs in the U.S. on individuals and families. Those of us that have suffered with atrial fibrillation will not find this information at all surprising.
Over at StopAfib.org, you will find an article about the study findings as well as what it means to those with atrial fibrillation and some ideas to help with the financial burden of atrial fibrillation.
Once you’ve read it, please come back and share your thoughts and comments here at the Atrial Fibrillation Blog.
