I thought I loved Germany, but this is ridiculous. I love Amsterdam! Yesterday, Michael O’Riordan and I decided to embrace the Dutch mode of transportation. Mike is a real journalist who works for theHeart.org. He’s also a fellow endurance athlete. We got off the congested tram yesterday and decided to rent bikes. This, my friends, […]
Category: AF ablation
I get a lot of questions about atrial flutter. Atrial flutter is a common arrhythmia that shares many similarities to its next of kin, AFib; but there are important differences. Let’s go over 15 basic facts and important points about atrial flutter. (In plain English.) 1. Atrial flutter is defined as a rapid but organized […]
I’m writing this from home. The travel back was uneventful and I actually got a little caught up in the office Friday. It was a fun trip but getting back to doctoring felt good. Atrial Fibrillation ablation: The Gap-AF trial was released as the lead late-breaker at EuroPace 2013. There were many remarkable (‘they-really-did-that’ sort […]
Hey all, I am in Athens Greece covering the European Heart Rhythm Association meeting. It’s called EuroPace 2013. I am here alone, the sole representative of theHeart.org. My first post is up over at theHeart.org. It concerns the release of a new website for patients with atrial fibrillation called www.afibmatters.org. Truth be told, I came […]
What a trouble it is! As a disease that associates with wear and tear, aging, obesity, sleep disorders, high blood pressure and inflammation, it’s no wonder the incidence of atrial fibrillation continues to rise. AF represents a huge health problem. For the individual patient, it can cause life-altering symptoms, increase the risk of stroke or […]
I receive a lot of emails from people afflicted with atrial fibrillation. It is humbling that another person would share such highly personal information with me, a stranger. Thanks for that. It goes without saying that I cannot give specific medical advice. Though it is tempting. I’ll read a detailed story and think to myself…OMG, […]
In the gratifying category, few things rank higher than vanquishing atrial fibrillation with catheter ablation. But yet, not everyone thinks so highly of a procedure that has come to dominate my medical career. Dr Rita Redberg, influential cardiologist and editor of the JAMA Internal Medicine “Less is More” series, said this about ablating AF: “Because […]
Sorry this took most of the week to get out. (There was a good reason.) Better late than never I suppose. On Day 3 of the 2013 American College of Cardiology meeting, I woke up well rested and inspired to squeeze in as much learning as possible. The first order of business was putting the […]
Those of you who run or ride know what the second day back after a break feels like. The first day is awesome. The body is fresh and snappy; there is an adrenaline rush at the start. It’s easy to overcook it on Day 1. Then there is me at the ACC on day 2. […]
As most of you know, I also write a column (Trials and Fibrillations) over at the online Cardiology news site, theHeart.org. My most recent article highlights what I thought were the top news stories in electrophysiology in 2012. There were many. Gosh were there ever. I broke a major rule of writing online articles: It […]
It’s not normal for me to study the literature on pediatric cardiology. There’s more than enough medical science on adults to keep me busy. But this one on the quality of life in kids with cardiac devices caught my eye. Researchers found that kids with either pacemakers or ICDs (defibrillators) and their families reported significantly […]