In the past week I've been approached by several folks in their eighties who are interested in catheter ablation or surgery for atrial fibrillation. But eighty is often considered the upper limit for these procedures due to concerns about the health of the patient. Perhaps not any more as a new study out of Canada …
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World Stroke Day is being observed on October 29th and focuses on preventing the silent strokes that occur five times as often as conventional strokes. Read: October 29 is World Stroke Day If you have atrial fibrillation, please re-examine your stroke risk, or arrange to review it with your doctor, as things may have changed. …
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Are you on bisphosphonates, such as Fosamax, Boniva, Actonel, or Reclast, to prevent osteoporosis, or are you considering them? If you have atrial fibrillation, or could be at risk for it, this new study will be of interest to you. While this study found absolute risk of atrial fibrillation to be low, bisphosphonates may lead …
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Recently there have been a number of new beta blocker and heart rate studies, some of which are contradictory. The findings from some of these recent studies may apply to those with atrial fibrillation: Heart rates over 70 beats per minute predict heart attack risk Slowing the heart rate doesn't protect those with hypertension—or does …
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USA Weekend HealthSmart edition features a story about Mellanie True Hills, founder of StopAfib.org, in which she talks about living with atrial fibrillation and communicating electronically with her surgeon before and after her mini-maze surgery. Read: USA Weekend Talks About Atrial Fibrillation and Mini-Maze Surgery... What are your thoughts on the role that electronic communications should play in your communications …
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A study in the October 15 issue of JAMA indicates that reducing how often a patient receives amiodarone for atrial fibrillation does not decrease side effects, but does increase atrial fibrillation recurrence and the risk of death and hospitalizations. Read: Continuous use of amiodarone for atrial fibrillation better than episodic use
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October is Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Month and StopAfib.org is helping to raise awareness of Sudden Cardiac Arrest. Read about October is Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Month
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Mellanie True Hills and StopAfib.org were included in the latest issue of More magazine in Retirement for the Restless by Lisa Belkin of the NYTimes. Read the story...
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A new study has shed light on gender bias in diagnosing heart disease, which may apply to diagnosis of atrial fibrillation in women as well. Read: Why Atrial Fibrillation May Be Missed More in Women After reading the article, please come back here to the Atrial Fibrillation Blog to add your comments and experiences.
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StopAfib.org and Mellanie True Hills' story of living with atrial fibrillation were featured in the September 2008 issue of EP Lab Digest. The article has a sidebar offering a patient perspective for doctors and staff, including five statements that afib patients wish their doctors wouldn't make. Read EP Lab Digest Features Patient Perspectives on Living with Atrial …
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