Cross-country skiers who take part in one of the world's most challenging ski races, the 90 km Vasaloppet in Sweden, are at increased risk of developing arrhythmia – problems with the rate or rhythm of their heart beat ...
A moderate case of obstructive sleep apnea can significantly increase a person's risk for sudden cardiac death, an often fatal condition where the heart stops beating and must be immediately treated with ...
People who develop a type of irregular heartbeat common in old age called atrial fibrillation may also be more likely to develop problems with memory and thinking, according to new research published in the June 5, 2013, ...
A new guideline from the American Academy of Neurology will help people who take blood thinners decide whether or not to take them during surgery or other medical procedures. The guideline is published in the May 28, 2013, ...
The rate of strokes suffered by Australians has dropped over the past 20 years, while strokes caused by an irregular heartbeat now account for one third of all strokes, according to new research led by the University of Adelaide.
Researchers at the Intermountain Heart Institute at Intermountain Medical Center have developed a new 3-D technology that for the first time allows cardiologists the ability to see the precise source of atrial fibrillation ...
Eating fish is good for your heart, but taking fish oil capsules does not help people at high risk of heart problems who are already taking medicines to prevent them, a large study in Italy found.
The Journal of Neurosurgery Publishing Group is pleased to announce publication of two new studies on dabigatran etexilate (Pradaxa®) and intracranial hemorrhage: one in the Journal of Neurosurgery and the other in Neur ...
(HealthDay)—Kcentra (prothrombin complex concentrate, human) has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat severe acute bleeding in adults after administration of the anti-clotting drug warfarin and ...
A practical guide on the use of the new oral anticoagulants (NOACs) has been produced by the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA) of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). A guide was needed to summarise existing information ...
A common test that records the heart's electrical activity could predict potentially serious cardiovascular illness, according to a UC San Francisco-led study.
A study published today in the European Heart Journal found no evidence that digoxin increases mortality in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), the opposite of results just published by another group in the same journa ...
Dabigatran is one of the new oral anticoagulants which are increasingly used to prevent thrombosis. In case of an emergency (e.g. bleeding or urgent surgery), there are - despite the lack of a specific antidote - effective ...
Atrial fibrillation (AF or A-fib) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia (irregular heart beat). It may cause no symptoms, but it is often associated with palpitations, fainting, chest pain, or congestive heart failure. AF increases the risk of stroke; the degree of stroke risk can be up to seven times that of the average population, depending on the presence of additional risk factors (such as high blood pressure). It may be identified clinically when taking a pulse, and the presence of AF can be confirmed with an electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) which demonstrates the absence of P waves together with an irregular ventricular rate.
In AF, the normal regular electrical impulses generated by the sinoatrial node are overwhelmed by disorganized electrical impulses usually originating in the roots of the pulmonary veins, leading to irregular conduction of impulses to the ventricles which generate the heartbeat. AF may occur in episodes lasting from minutes to days ("paroxysmal"), or be permanent in nature. A number of medical conditions increases the risk of AF, particularly mitral stenosis (narrowing of the mitral valve of the heart).
Atrial fibrillation may be treated with medications to either slow the heart rate to a normal range ("rate control") or revert the heart rhythm back to normal ("rhythm control"). Synchronized electrical cardioversion can be used to convert AF to a normal heart rhythm. Surgical and catheter-based therapies may be used to prevent recurrence of AF in certain individuals. People with AF often take anticoagulants such as warfarin to protect them from stroke, depending on the calculated risk. The prevalence of AF in a population increases with age, with 8% of people over 80 having AF. Chronic AF leads to a small increase in the risk of death. A third of all strokes are caused by AF.
More than 1,500 pedestrians were estimated to be treated in emergency rooms in 2010 for injuries related to using a cell phone while walking, according to a new nationwide study.
(Medical Xpress)—A team of researchers from the U.S. and Scotland has developed a new type of retinal prostheses designed to restore sight to blind patients. In their paper published in the journal Nature Co ...
(Medical Xpress)—Nitrous oxide—best known as laughing gas—is one of the world's oldest and most widely used anesthetics. Despite its popularity, however, experts have questioned its impact on the risk ...
(Medical Xpress)—There's a reason osteoarthritis is often called wear-and-tear arthritis: Repeated stress on joints over time results in degeneration of the soft cartilage that normally distributes loads ...
Women say they place a priority on a potential partner's earning prospects, and men claim to value a potential partner's physical attractiveness; these sex differences have been widely studied by psychologists for decades.
A study of vocal impersonations has shown for the first time how speech production and voice perception systems in the brain interact to influence the way our voices sound. The research, supported by the ...
(Medical Xpress)—A new study by a team of researchers from the University of Notre Dame provides an important new insight into how cancer cells are able to avoid the cell death process. The findings may ...
Inside each of us is our own internal timing device. It drives everything from sleep cycles to metabolism, but the inner-workings of this so-called "circadian clock" are complex, and the molecular processes behind it have ...
Behind the common expression "you can't compare apples to oranges" lies a fundamental question of neuroscience: How does the brain recognize that apples and oranges are different? A group of neuroscientists ...