For those in Florida, we hope you can join us at an atrial fibrillation seminar in Orlando on November 15. It is sponsored by The AF Center at The Orlando Cardiovascular Institute. Read: Free Seminar on Atrial Fibrillation, Orlando, FL 11/15/08 And if you're near Chicago, please save the date for a November 22 atrial fibrillation …
In the past week I've been approached by several folks in their eighties who are interested in catheter ablation or surgery for atrial fibrillation. But eighty is often considered the upper limit for these procedures due to concerns about the health of the patient. Perhaps not any more as a new study out of Canada …
USA Weekend HealthSmart edition features a story about Mellanie True Hills, founder of StopAfib.org, in which she talks about living with atrial fibrillation and communicating electronically with her surgeon before and after her mini-maze surgery. Read: USA Weekend Talks About Atrial Fibrillation and Mini-Maze Surgery... What are your thoughts on the role that electronic communications should play in your communications …
A recent study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology evaluated 137 patients who had undergone closure or removal of the left atrial appendage (LAA) during maze or mini maze surgery and found a high failure rate and that surgical LAA closure may not always protect against blood clots or strokes. Read more …