Today we're featuring a replay of a webcast of a Total Thoracoscopic Maze (TTM), a minimally invasive (mini maze) procedure for atrial fibrillation. The webcast, from PinnacleHealth, features Dr. Mubashir A. Mumtaz, cardiothoracic surgeon, and Dr. David C. Man, electrophysiologist. Watch the replay: Replay of Total Thoracoscopic Maze Procedure for Atrial Fibrillation Treatment
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StopAfib.org interviews Dr. Peter Kowey See the full transcript at: www.stopafib.org In this video interview at Boston Atrial Fibrillation Symposium 2010, Dr. Peter Kowey talked about a number of exciting new things in the atrial fibrillation world, including the Cabana clinical trials, the Safari catheter ablation registry, dronedarone as a …
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StopAfib.org interviews Dr. Emelia Benjamin of the Framingham Heart Study. See a full transcript of the interview at: www.stopafib.org Dr. Benjamin talked about risk factors for atrial fibrillation, including advancing age, gender, high blood pressure, valvular heart disease, heart failure, longer PR-interval, and biomarkers such as C-reactive protein (CRP) and …
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Not all atrial fibrillation patients are candidates for an ablation, either catheter ablation or surgical ablation, such as the maze or mini maze procedures. Thus their stroke risk remains high. We recently wrote about the FDA’s approval of the AtriClip device, which is implanted during open heart surgery and reduces stroke risk by occluding (closing …
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In this video interview, Emelia Benjamin, MD, professor of medicine and epidemiology at Boston University and senior investigator for the Framingham Heart Study, discusses atrial fibrillation risk factors and afib prevention, including the role of family history. She talks about the Framingham Risk Prediction Tool for Atrial Fibrillation and discusses well-known risks, such as advancing …
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Atrial fibrillation is very common in those with obstructive sleep apnea, and up to half of those who have afib also have sleep apnea. However, few studies have looked at the impact of sleep apnea on the success of catheter ablation and whether sleep apnea treatment with a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine makes …
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On July 13, Chase Community Giving will give away $5 million dollars to 200 non-profit organizations — $250K to one grand prize winner, $100K each to four runners up, and $20K each to 195 others. Please vote for the Atrial Fibrillation Blog's sponsor, StopAfib.org. It's easy and should only take a minute. To vote, just …
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At Heart Rhythm 2010, there was an update on the results of the STOP AF (Sustained Treatment of Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation) clinical trial that involved patients who received cryoablation using the Arctic Front® Cardiac CryoAblation Catheter System. At twelve months following these procedures, these younger, highly-symptomatic patients had better quality of life and dramatically decreased …
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AF patients are generally at a higher risk for stroke and thus may have to take anticoagulant medications, such as Coumadin or warfarin, to manage their afib-related stroke risk. With the FDA's recent approval of AtriCure's AtriClip device that is implanted during open heart surgery, afib patients and their doctors may now have another way …
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Catheter ablation in persistent and longstanding persistent atrial fibrillation patients has traditionally had low success rates since many of the triggers causing atrial fibrillation are dispersed throughout the left atrium. Thus isolation of the pulmonary veins, which works well for those with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, is often an incomplete solution for those with persistent forms …
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