You may find this hard to believe but I really don’t look at my site’s stats much. In fact, just today I discovered that WordPress has a feature that ranks posts by views. I’m not going to give you my Top Ten just by ranking. Rather, I’ll mix in some of my favorites and those […]
Category: Atrial fibrillation
Yesterday afternoon, the FDA finally approved apixaban (Eliquis) for the prevention of stroke in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation. I use the words ‘finally approved’ because the markedly positive ARISTOTLE trial was published 15 months ago in the New England Journal of Medicine. The long delay was mysterious. On paper, apixaban looks to be the […]
Let’s talk about the new anticoagulants. Two recent studies involving dabigatran (Pradaxa) have shed new light on an important topic for patients with atrial fibrillation: the risk of bleeding versus the risk of stroke. Dabigatran and rivaroxaban (and soon, apixaban) have been approved for the prevention of stroke in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (AF). […]
I’m sad. Gone is the novelty of having magic in my IPhone. For over a year, I was special. As a beta-tester, I could show you your heart rhythm on my IPhone. Today, the AliveCor IPhone ECG passed muster with the FDA. It gained clearance to be sold to medical providers. I first reported this […]
Hey all, I just published a new post on an old drug–digoxin. “Dig,” as it is shortened to in medical-speak, originally came from the foxglove plant. A recent analysis of the landmark AFFIRM trial has questioned the wisdom of using this decades-old medicine. I know; dig isn’t as interesting as ObamaCare, ICDs or AF ablation, […]
The treatment of atrial fibrillation continues to encompass a greater percentage of my practice. Sometimes I feel less like a cardiologist and more like an afib-ologist. The persistently rapid growth of this disease in our population boggles my mind. Really folks, this is not hyperbole; this is fact. Like all things cardiac, the focus is […]
There was good news today in the atrial fibrillation world. Though no surprise to heart rhythm doctors, an FDA investigation reveals no evidence that new cases of bleeding are any higher with dabigatran (Pradaxa) than with warfarin. The full statement from the FDA is here. The assessment was undertaken because after approval of the novel […]
Since writing about how obesity acts directly on the atria I have received a number of good questions. Most centered around the permanency and reversibility of fat-related cardiac effects. Even my partner mentioned to me that fat actually inserts itself between heart muscle cells. Wonder where he read that? Questions about a post are always […]
The old thinking had obesity only indirectly involved with atrial fibrillation. That is, fatness perpetuated AF because the extra weight led to other conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes and sleep disorders. Emerging data paint a gloomier a picture for patients with high body fat composition. It looks like fatness itself has direct and negative […]
Greetings from Munich Germany. Today was the last day of the European Society of Cardiology Congress. I had a great time, learned a ton and met an amazing group of medical journalists from theHeart.org. On the last day, I decided to attend a bit ‘softer’ session. Provocatively titled, A drinker, rather than a smoker, is […]
There was a lively debate on this topic at ESC 2012. One of the strategies proposed to reduce stroke in AF involves occlusion of the sack-like structure called the left atrial appendage. Two devices are being evaluated and nearing consideration for approval. There is a great deal of debate on these devices. Here is my […]