Heart Rhythm

Hearts should have normal rhythm to their beats, but when these beats are out of synch, it causes inefficient pumping of blood. Irregular heart arrhythmias occur when the electrical signals that coordinate the heart's beats do not work properly. This can cause beats that are too fast (tachycardia), or too slow (bradycardia). Tachycardias include atrial fibrillation (AFib), supraventricular tachycardia, ventricular fibrillation, and ventricular tachycardia (VT). Bradycardias include sick sinus syndrome and conduction block. Electrophysiology arrhythmia treatments include medications, life style changes, and the EP lab interventions of catheter ablation, and implantable pacemakers or defibrillators.

FDA announces recall of cryoablation catheters after multiple injuries, including 4 deaths
Boston Scientific is recalling the catheters associated with its POLARx Cryoablation System due to a heightened risk of esophageal injury. The FDA has ruled that this a Class I recall.
Cardiologists perform world’s first leadless LBBAP procedures with Abbott pacemaker
The first-in-human procedures were performed in Prague with the investigational Aveir CSP leadless pacemaker system.
President of medical device company resigns over conduct allegations after 7 months in role
Joseph C. Wright, a longtime Merit Medical employee, resigned after unspecified allegations regarding his conduct were brought to light. He was named the company's new president back in May.
FDA and Boston Scientific issue urgent alert about pacemaker failures following 2 deaths
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued the recall notice for more than 200,000 pacemakers because a battery issue could lock the device in safe mode.
Treating AFib patients with TAVR still linked to elevated risks
While the technology and techniques associated with TAVR have advanced over the years, treating patients who present with baseline atrial fibrillation is still associated with certain risks.

Apixaban linked to best outcomes in older patients with AFib, heart failure

Compared to warfarin, all direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) were associated with fewer cardiovascular events including heart attacks and strokes in a study of Medicare patients with both nonvalvular atrial fibrillation and heart failure. But apixaban appeared to offer the best balance of protecting against these events while minimizing bleeding risk.

April 2, 2019

Hands-only CPR doubles survival, boosts bystander intervention rates

The proportion of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients in Sweden who received bystander CPR increased by 27.4 percent over an 18-year period, according to a new study, with much of that growth attributed to the increased utilization of chest compression-only CPR.

April 1, 2019

AI uses x-rays to ID cardiac rhythm device manufacturer with 99.6% accuracy

A new AI software can quickly and accurately determine the manufacturer and model of a cardiac rhythm device from an x-ray, possibly speeding up treatment when the devices fail.

March 28, 2019

Antibiotic-eluting envelop reduces risk of CIED infections by 40%

A mesh envelope embedded with antibiotics cut the risk of major device-related infections by 40 percent when placed around cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) like pacemakers and defibrillators, researchers reported in the New England Journal of Medicine.

March 22, 2019

Simplified AFib ablation saves time, money without sacrificing quality

A catheter ablation protocol for atrial fibrillation (AFib) including only “the bare essentials” of the procedure delivered similar outcomes as a more involved strategy featuring pulmonary vein mapping, according to research presented at EHRA 2019.

March 19, 2019

Apixaban, clopidogrel a safe combo for ACS patients with AFib

NEW ORLEANS — An antithrombotic regimen of apixaban plus a P2Y12 inhibitor such as clopidogrel lowered bleeding events and hospitalizations compared to warfarin plus clopidogrel in a cohort of patients with atrial fibrillation (AFib) and a recent acute coronary syndrome (ACS), according to results of the AUGUSTUS trial.

March 18, 2019

Critics concerned FDA is playing cheerleader during Apple’s health push

The Apple Watch’s FDA-cleared electrocardiogram (ECG) feature has already helped some people uncover undiagnosed atrial fibrillation, leading to necessary medical treatment. But cardiologists fear false positives may be the more common occurrence in low-risk individuals, potentially leading to unnecessary testing and emotional strain in those users, according to Politico.

March 5, 2019

Consistent with ‘obesity paradox,’ overweight AF patients see lower odds of death, stroke

A study published Feb. 14 in the American Journal of Cardiology suggests obese patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) fare better in terms of mortality and stroke events than their non-obese counterparts—a finding that’s in line with the much-contested “obesity paradox."

February 20, 2019

Heart Rhythm

FDA announces recall of cryoablation catheters after multiple injuries, including 4 deaths

Cardiologists perform world’s first leadless LBBAP procedures with Abbott pacemaker

President of medical device company resigns over conduct allegations after 7 months in role

FDA and Boston Scientific issue urgent alert about pacemaker failures following 2 deaths

Treating AFib patients with TAVR still linked to elevated risks