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.

Cardiologist gets prison time for swindling $238K from VA

A New Jersey cardiologist specializing in electrophysiology was sentenced July 31 to 20 months in prison for billing the Veterans Affairs (VA) program hundreds of thousands of dollars for services he never performed.

Thumbnail

Nasal spray shows potential for quickly treating arrhythmia

A calcium-channel blocker delivered as a nasal spray rapidly restored individuals with paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) to normal sinus rhythm in a phase 2 study, raising the possibility that the drug could be self-administered in a real-world setting and prevent trips to the emergency department.

Epinephrine after OHCA: Is the survival benefit worth the neurological risk?

Epinephrine doses administered by paramedics significantly improved the odds of 30-day survival for patients following out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), according to a randomized, placebo-controlled trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The survivors who received epinephrine, however, had worse neurological outcomes.

Diagnosed asthma leads to 38% increased risk of AFib

Asthma and uncontrolled asthma are associated with a 38 percent increased risk of developing atrial fibrillation (AFib), according to new research published in JAMA Cardiology.

DOACs most beneficial for women with AFib

Non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants may be even more effective for treating women with atrial fibrillation (AFib) than men, suggests a real-world study from Hong Kong published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Thumbnail

What a drag: Smokers face 32% increase in AFib risk

The more a person smokes, the greater the risk of developing a heart rhythm disorder, according to a new study published July 11 in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.

Blacks have worse long-term survival after in-hospital cardiac arrest

Blacks who survive in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) are 28 percent less likely to live to one year after discharge and 33 percent less likely to survive five years when compared to white counterparts, suggesting a disparity in follow-up care.

NSAID, anticoagulant combo ups risk for bleeding events in AFib patients

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can be dangerous for patients with atrial fibrillation (AFib) when taken on top of oral anticoagulants, suggests a post hoc analysis of the RE-LY trial published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.