From StopAfib.org - For Afib Patients, By Afib Patients
Dr. John Mandrola, a cardiac electrophysiologist in Louisville, Kentucky, who blogs at Dr. John M, live-blogged the 2012 Boston Atrial Fibrillation Symposium. He has given us permission to reprint his blog posts for the afib community. You will find them here: Recap of Boston Atrial Fibrillation Symposium 2012 – Guest Posts by Dr. John Mandrola [...]
StopAfib.org interviews Dr. Sanjiv Narayan of the University of California at San Diego. Find a transcript of the interview, and more on Dr. Narayan and the FIRM trial at: http://www.stopafib.org/newsitem.cfm/NEWSID/379 In this video interview at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2011, Dr. Narayan discussed the high success rate of the FIRM trial of focal [...]
StopAfib.org interviews Dr. Hugh Calkins, electrophysiologist at Johns Hopkins Hospital. In this video, Dr. Calkins discussed the current effort to update and rewrite the HRS/EHRA/ECAS Expert Consensus Statement on Catheter and Surgical Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation, which was published in 2007. The goal is to present the new guidelines at the Boston Atrial Fibrillation Symposium [...]
StopAfib.org interviews Dr. Matthew Reynolds, of the Harvard Clinical Research Institute. In this video interview, Dr. Reynolds talked about his research looking at outcomes and quality of life following catheter ablation. His research analyzed quality of life data that was collected as part of a previously-reported catheter trial, in which catheter ablation was found to [...]
In this video, cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. James Edgerton of The Heart Hospital Baylor Plano (Plano, TX) consults with an afib patient and caregiver about various atrial fibrillation treatment options, including medications, cardioversions, catheter ablation, and surgical procedures. Dr. Edgerton is a board-certified cardothoracic surgeon at the Heart Hospital Baylor Plano, an Adjunct Assistant Clinical Professor [...]
StopAfib.org interviews Dr. Douglas Packer. See the full transcript at: http://www.stopafib.org/newsitem.cfm/NEWSID/298 In this video, Dr. Douglas L. Packer of the Mayo Clinic provides details about the landmark CABANA Trial comparing Catheter Ablation to Antiarrhythmic Drugs for Atrial Fibrillation. Dr. Packer is an Electrophysiologist and Professor of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic, and the developer and [...]
Results from FAST, the first-ever randomized trial to compare the effectiveness of minimally invasive surgical ablation (also called the mini maze procedure) for atrial fibrillation and catheter ablation for afib, were presented at the recent American Heart Association meeting. The FAST study enrolled patients who had failed a previous catheter ablation procedure. The minimally invasive [...]
In follow up to our announcement yesterday of the Top Ten Atrial Fibrillation Videos of 2011, StopAfib.org now unveils the Top Ten Atrial Fibrillation Articles of 2011. Major topics of interest to the atrial fibrillation patient community this year were afib stroke prevention and the CHADS2 and CHA2DS2-VASc scoring tools that determine the need for [...]
StopAfib.org has announced the Top Ten Atrial Fibrillation Videos of 2011. Afib stroke prevention again topped the list, with stories about warfarin (Coumadin), alternatives such as dabigatran (Pradaxa) and rivaroxaban (Xarelto), and the CHADS2 and CHA2DS2-VASc scoring tools for determining whether anticoagulants are needed. Other popular topics included sleep apnea, catheter ablation, and maze procedures (surgical [...]
While catheter ablation has been proven more effective at stopping atrial fibrillation than antiarrhythmic drugs, pulmonary veins may reconnect and atrial fibrillation may return, causing the catheter ablation to fail. At the recent Heart Rhythm Society meeting, Dr. Vivek Reddy, Director of Cardiac Arrhythmia Services at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York City, presented clinical [...]
