CardioExchange Archive

March 25th, 2011

The Best Tool for Treating Atrial Fibrillation

John Mandrola, MD, FACC

John Mandrola is a cardiac electrophysiologist and blogger on matters medical and general. Here is a recent post from his blog, Dr John M. Today, I would like to tell you about the most effective way to treat the most common heart ailment — atrial fibrillation (AF). It’s not the novel new blood-thinner, dabigatran (Pradaxa). Though it’s […]

---

March 18th, 2011

Dabigatran Dialogue: Two Experts Answer Our Questions and Yours

Samuel Goldhaber, MD and Elaine Marie Hylek, MD, MPH

In a series of blog posts on CardioExchange, Samuel Goldhaber, Director of the Venous Thromboembolism Research Group in the Cardiovascular Division at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, has been guiding us on best practices around dabigatran. Recently, he teamed up with Elaine Hylek, Director of the Thrombosis and Anticoagulation Service at Boston University School of Medicine, […]

---

March 9th, 2011

ACTIVE I Examines Role for Irbesartan in AF Patients

Larry Husten, PHD

The angiotensin-receptor blocker irbesartan does not significantly reduce cardiovascular events in patients with atrial fibrillation, according to the results of the Atrial Fibrillation Clopidogrel Trial with Irbesartan for Prevention of Vascular Events (ACTIVE I), published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Participants had been previously randomized in the ACTIVE A trial or the ACTIVE W trial. More than 9,000 […]

---

February 15th, 2011

Dabigatran for Patients with AFib: Putting the Updated Recs into Practice

Samuel Goldhaber, MD

CardioExchange welcomes Samuel Zachary Goldhaber, MD, Director of the Venous Thromboembolism Research Group and Medical Co-Director of the Anticoagulation Management Service at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. He answers practical questions from the CardioExchange editors about newly updated recommendations on the use of dabigatran in patients with atrial fibrillation, issued by the American College […]

---

December 20th, 2010

Dronedarone, Rate Control, and Catheter Ablation Incorporated in Updated AF Guidelines

Larry Husten, PHD

A focused update on the guidelines for the management of atrial fibrillation has been released by the American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association, and Heart Rhythm Society. Most notably, the new guidelines incorporate recent data from clinical trials evaluating dronedarone, clopidogrel, strict rate control, and catheter ablation. Here are the major highlights: Dronedarone can reduce […]

---

December 17th, 2010

FDA Approves Cryoballoon Ablation Treatment for Paroxysmal AF

Larry Husten, PHD

Medtronic announced today that it has received FDA approval for its Arctic Front® Cardiac CryoAblation Catheter system for the treatment of refractory paroxysmal AF.

---

November 15th, 2010

Omega-3s Fail to Show Benefits in Atrial Fibrillation

Larry Husten, PHD

In sharp contrast to earlier studies suggesting a positive effect, a large study of high-dose prescription omega-3 fatty acids found no evidence of benefit in treating atrial fibrillation. The trial, called the Efficacy and Safety of Prescription Omega-3 Acid Ethyl Esters (P-OM3) for the Prevention of Recurrent Symptomatic Atrial Fibrillation, included 663 patients with AF (542 […]

---

November 13th, 2010

Study Explores Role of Familial AF in Risk of Developing New AF

Larry Husten, PHD

Although it is well known that there is a heritable component to atrial fibrillation (AF), the precise clinical significance of familial AF has been unclear. Steven Lubitz and colleagues analyzed data from the Framingham Heart Study to assess the incremental predictive value of familial AF in a risk model for new-onset AF. In a presentation at the […]

---

October 22nd, 2010

What Do I Plan to Do with Dabigatran?

Richard A. Lange, MD, MBA

1. Discuss its pros (no need for INR monitoring, less bleeding than coumadin) and cons (cost, dyspepsia) with my atrial fibrillation patients 2. Avoid its use in patients with renal dysfunction (CrCl  <60), liver disease, pregnancy or stroke within the past 6 months 3. Lament the absence of the INR monitoring requirement, which I currently […]

---

October 21st, 2010

INR Home Testing Found Comparable to Point-of-Care Testing

Larry Husten, PHD

Weekly INR self-testing at home is comparable to monthly point-of-care testing, according to results of THINRS (the Home International Normalized Ratio Study), published in the New England Journal of Medicine. David Matchar and colleagues found no difference in the incidence of stroke, major bleeding episode, or death in the 2922 patients taking warfarin who were randomized to […]

---