At Heart Rhythm 2010 in Denver recently, a session on demographic factors influencing atrial fibrillation management and outcomes featured the following research findings:

• African Americans Have Less Risk Than Caucasians of Atrial Fibrillation After Bypass Surgery
• Blacks Have Lower Risk of Atrial Fibrillation After Age 60 Than Whites Despite Higher Risk Factors
• Women with Atrial Fibrillation May Need More Aggressive Anticoagulation Than Men to Avoid Stroke
• Women with Atrial Fibrillation Are Referred Less Often to AF Centers and Are Less Likely to Receive Aggressive Treatments

Read about these research findings at: Race and Gender Issues Influencing Atrial Fibrillation Management — News from Heart Rhythm 2010

Tags: Anticoagulation, Medication, Risk, Stroke, Study, Surgery, Treatment, Women by Mellanie
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In preparation for the upcoming free community Atrial Fibrillation Seminar in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, May 19, renowned electrophysiologist Dr. Nassir Marrouche, the executive director of the University of Utah’s Comprehensive Arrhythmia Research & Management (CARMA) center, and Mellanie True Hills, founder of StopAfib.org, talked with NPR about heart disease and atrial fibrillation.

Find out more about the event, and listen to the NPR interview at:
Salt Lake City, UT Atrial Fibrillation Seminar

Tags: Audio/Video, Catheter ablation, Events, Mellanie True Hills, Treatment, Women by Mellanie
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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.

Read more:  Women with Atrial Fibrillation Less Likely To Get Catheter Ablation Than Men — And Have More Complications

Tags: Catheter ablation, Causes or Triggers, Medication, Study, Treatment, Women 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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If you’re near Hickory, NC, and want to learn how women can avoid heart disease and stroke, the #1 and #3 killers, please come hear Mellanie True Hills, CEO of StopAfib.org, on February 27.

Mellanie will be keynoting at the Day of Dance for Health, which is sponsored by Frye Regional Medical Center in Hickory, NC, and powered by the Spirit of Women hospital network. You’ll find more info at:

StopAfib.org CEO Mellanie True Hills Keynotes Day of Dance for Health in Hickory, NC

Tags: Events, Mellanie True Hills, Women by Mellanie
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February is Heart Month. To kick if off, on Friday, February 5 we celebrate National Wear Red Day^® when Americans nationwide wear red to show their support for women’s heart disease awareness.

This event is co-sponsored by the American Heart Association; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; Office on Women’s Health of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; and WomenHeart.

To learn more, visit:

• American Heart Association Go Red for Women

• National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s The HeartTruth

• WomenHeart

Tags: Events, Women by Mellanie
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Mellanie True Hills, CEO of StopAfib.org,  is keynoting the Women’s Power Pulse Luncheon and Expo on February 12, 2010, at the McAllen Convention Center in McAllen, TX. The Women’s Power Pulse Luncheon & Expo is sponsored by Doctors Hospital at Renaissance.

Mellanie provides a message of hope and encouragement, sharing how to take control, decrease stress, and protect against heart disease. She will also talk about atrial fibrillation during this Heart Month event.

For more information on the event, including how to register, see Women’s Power Pulse Luncheon on 02-12-2010

Tags: Events, Mellanie True Hills, Women 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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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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To help raise awareness of afib for Atrial Fibrillation Awareness Month, Jennifer Leggio (@mediaphyter), well-known ZDNet Social Business blogger, shared what it’s like for a young person to live with afib, having been diagnosed with it in her twenties.

Read: From the heart, about the heart: Living with afib

Tags: Patient Stories, Women by Mellanie
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