By Mellanie True Hills In celebration of the fourth annual National Atrial Fibrillation Awareness Month in September 2010, StopAfib.org asks you to take a stand against atrial fibrillation and stroke by viewing and sharing the Take a Stand video and by educating yourself with the Get Started Learning About Atrial Fibrillation Guide. "By taking a stand …
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By Mellanie True Hills If you've come here from seeing the Take a Stand video, please share it with others that should know about atrial fibrillation. If you haven't seen it yet, see: Take a Stand video Let's get started learning about atrial fibrillation by starting with the section below for anyone interested in learning about …
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August 2, 2010 8:05 AM CT By Christine Welniak Dr. Mubashir Mumtaz, Chief of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery at Pinnacle Health in Harrisburg, PA, sees a new way to reduce stroke risk for his atrial fibrillation patients who can’t have afib surgery. Just last week, Dr. Mumtaz implanted the AtriClip Left Atrial Appendage Exclusion device …
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July 12, 2010 7:15 AM CT In this video interview, Dr. Emelia Benjamin talked about the risk factors for atrial fibrillation, including that the lifetime risk for women is 23% and for men 26%. In order to try to prevent it, the Framingham Heart Study developed a risk prediction instrument for atrial fibrillation that includes …
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July 6, 2010 8:05 AM CT By Peggy Noonan and Mellanie True Hills Roughly half of those who have obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) also have atrial fibrillation (AF). In obstructive sleep apnea, the airway becomes blocked during sleep, which causes interruptions in breathing. Although research hasn’t confirmed obstructive sleep apnea as a cause of atrial fibrillation, …
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June 23, 2010 8:05 AM CT By Peggy Noonan and Mellanie True Hills A late-breaking study, the North American STOP AF Trial, presented at the recent Heart Rhythm 2010, the 31st Annual Scientific Sessions of the Heart Rhythm Society, was a follow up to results published earlier this year. The STOP AF (Sustained Treatment of Paroxysmal …
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June 18, 2010 12:05 AM CT By Christine Welniak Doctors may now have another way to reduce the risk of stroke for their patients with afib. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the AtriClip Gillinov-Cosgrove Left Atrial Appendage Exclusion system for atrial fibrillation patients undergoing open heart surgery. Until now, individuals who …
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June 14, 2010 6:05 AM CT By Christine Welniak Atrial fibrillation is a progressive disease that can become more severe over time as AF “remodels” the heart. This results in multiple areas in the atrium that could become “triggers” for AF, areas where afib is initiated or can “re-enter” to cycle throughout the heart. The pulmonary …
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June 8, 2010 7:10 AM CT The Washington Post just did a feature highlighting atrial fibrillation, including treatments and evidence of results. It also included a poignant look at what afib does to patients. Mellanie True Hills, founder of StopAfib.org, was one of three afib patients featured in this article. This article was written by the …
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June 10, 2010 7:05 AM CT By Peggy Noonan and Mellanie True Hills Findings presented at Heart Rhythm 2010, the 31st Annual Scientific Sessions of the Heart Rhythm Society in Denver, Colorado, showed that catheter ablation treatment for atrial fibrillation could reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias and reduce the risk …
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