I had to be sitting down to read this one. This is a HUGE development in the field of AFIB, probably the most important one of 2019! Basically, by looking at sinus (normal) rhythm ECGs, artificial intelligence algorithms were able to predict future occurrence of AFIB with sensitivity, specificity and overall accuracy of 79%. This…
If you don’t want to watch the whole video, the following quotes in the video summarize it: “Americans need to be challenged to think about what they eat.” “Health is not the absence of illness, it is the presence of well-being.” “Goal is to live until you die, not to start a slow process of…
There have been several anecdotal examples of atrial fibrillation associated with chronic pain. The REGARDS study followed 30,239 patients over 4 years. The prevalence of AF was higher in opioid users than nonusers (12.5% vs 7.6%). The postulated mechanism is : Endogenous opioid peptides open mitochondrial potassium ATP channels, making mitochondria resistant to oxidative stress….
ARREST AFIB trial Dr. Dennis Lau from Adelaide, Australia made this analogy at the Heart Rhythm Society meeting in San Francisco. He works with Dr. Prasanthan Sanders’ group. This group published one of the seminal studies regarding lifestyle and AFIB – the ARREST AFIB trial. Lifestyle factors that lead to AFIB are like the leaking…
Elaine Eaker et. al. published an interesting study in Circulation in 2004. It followed 1769 men and 1913 women from the Framingham Offspring Study. It showed that after adjusting for known risk factors such as age and high blood pressure, researchers found several traits significantly increased the risk of atrial fibrillation in men. Those with…
Having type D personality is not good your cardiovascular health. Type D personality has 2 traits: Negative affectivity (worry, irritability, gloom). Social inhibition (reticence, lack of self assurance). The prevalence of Type D personality is 21% in the general population and 53% in cardiac patients. Cause or effect? Type D personality affects health related quality of life in…
Bidirectional relationship There is a complex relationship between depression, anxiety, and AFIB. AFIB can cause depression and anxiety in patients. Depression and anxiety may create an environment that is conducive for the initiation and perpetuation of AFIB. Depression and anxiety affect how patients perceive their illness, and impact healthcare utilization. The presence of depression and…
AFIB may cause cognitive decline via multiple mechanisms: Stroke Multiinfarct dementia due to microinfarcts Microbleeds as a result of anticoagulants Cerebral hypoperfusion – decreased blood flow to the brain Decline in brain volume Beta blockers ??may contribute Catheter ablation for AFIB contributes to micro infarcts (ACE – asymptomatic cerebral emboli) AFIB may be a marker…
A JAMA study from February 2019 showed highly processed food kills you. In 44 551 French adults 45 years or older, a 10% increase in the proportion of ultra-processed food consumption was statistically significantly associated with a 14% higher risk of all-cause mortality. Ultra processed food has high amounts of sugar, salt and saturated animal fat….
Of all the non-allopathic (CAM – complementary and alternative) therapies out there, the only one that has been systematically studied is accupuncture. Puncturing of the Neiguan, Shenmen and Xinshu spots has been advocated to treat atrial fibrillation. The best study I can find in a peer reviewed journal is from JCE 2011. 80 patients post…