As an electrophysiologist in Boulder, Colorado I get a lot of questions about how much exercise is recommended for patients with arrhythmias. Exercise is good for you but is more better? Anecdotal evidence has suggested that endurance exercise increases the risk of atrial fibrillation. A recent study published in European Heart Journal addressed this issue….
Tag: afib
fat tongues
Fat tongues cause sleep apnea. Sleep apnea can lead to AFIB. Abstract from the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. This BBC article does a good job explaining.
afib and alzheimer’s
Relationship between AFIB and dementia is strong but a recent study looking at pooled data showed correlation between AFIB and Alzheimer’s disease. Retrospective studies but good pooled data: Six studies, 56,370 patients , hazard ratio of 1.3 (meaning if you have AFIB you are 1.3 times more likely to get Alzheimer’s disease). Treating AFIB is…
ablation without lifestyle changes
Performing AFIB ablation (substitute any medical intervention for a lifestyle induced disease process here) on a patient without them incorporating lifestyle changes is like the video below. Think about it.
AI predicts AFIB
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…
sober curious
I like the term. I am going to ask my AFIB patients to be sober curious. Sober curious as a concept started gaining popularity with the book by Ruby Warrington. Non alcoholic drinks, raves and bars are now the in-thing. Dry January as a concept is catching on in the US and UK. “Alcohol Change“,…
AFIB & dementia
There is a strong correlation between AFIB and dementia. Prevalence of AFIB and dementia are both increasing with aging population. There have been several meta-analyses looking dementia in patients with AFIB. Study by Kwok in Neurology – 46.637 patients – twice the risk of dementia in patients with AFIB. Study by Santangeli in Heart Rhythm…
anxiety & AFIB
This quote is not meant to be funny. This is the truth of atrial fibrillation for most symptomatic patients. Early in the course of atrial fibrillation, most patients are anxious. I tell them “the paradox of AFIB is that the more you have it, the less it bothers you (most people)”. Anxiety increases risk of…
endurance exercise & AFIB
MODERATION Endurance exercise is a risk factor for atrial fibrillation. I have observed this effect since I started practice in Boulder 15 y ago. I have spent hours with my patients, discussing the role of moderation in exercise. Here is data to support this recommendation. Meden Agan The temple of Apollo at Delphi bore the inscription Meden Agan (μηδὲν…
avoid grapefruit juice in AFIB patients
Credible Meds has a great website and app on which you can check drugs that cause QT prolongation. It is important to do this, especially if you are already on drugs that prolong QT interval since combination of 2 drugs that do this can cause lethal arrhythmias. Grapefruit juice causes QT prolongation related to blocking…