This is my crazy-busy time of year, with many back-to-back trips for speeches. I speak at Go Red for Women and women's heart health events around the country, especially during Heart Month (February). I go for a couple of days, come home for 12-24 hours, and then leave again. No matter how crazy it is …
Read More
The controversy among those with atrial fibrillation continues on whether or not you should be on Coumadin or warfarin. How do you know your risk of stroke and whether or not you should be taking Coumadin? Learn about your CHADS2 score from an electrophysiologist in this video... See the video at: Do You Need Coumadin: …
Read More
It's Thanksgiving week here in the U.S., which is a time to reflect and give thanks. No matter what has happened in our lives, we have much for which to be thankful. I have much for which I am thankful as well, including getting a second chance and a third chance at life. Both caused …
Read More
Since the shocking death of political commentator Tim Russert a few days ago, we have seen a huge outpouring of love and respect for this man who was so admired. I admired him, too, but this post is not about what his life taught us, but about what his death taught us. Many of us with …
Read More
One topic, AV node ablation, makes the rounds of the atrial fibrillation discussion groups on a regular basis, and has just come back around again. All at about the same time, several afib patients' doctors have insisted that they have an AV node ablation with a pacemaker implant. Thus they have come seeking others' experiences. …
Read More
Since I posted a few days ago on Statins Help Women with Atrial Fibrillation, Hans Larsen, owner of the Lone Atrial Fibrillation Bulletin Board, created a great recap of studies related to inflammation and atrial fibrillation, including lone atrial fibrillation (afib without any underlying heart disease). It's definitely worth checking out to find out more about inflammation. Some findings he included …
Read More
I'm mad and must post this before I explode. Today alone I've answered a dozen e-mails or comments from folks suffering with atrial fibrillation around the same theme—their clueless doctors! Now don't get me wrong, there are so many good doctors out there. And the doctors to those folks who e-mailed me are probably very …
Read More
Post-menopausal women with existing heart disease have less risk of having or developing atrial fibrillation if they are taking statin drugs. This finding was reported at the Heart Rhythm Society's annual meeting in San Francisco. It appears that it's the anti-inflammatory properties of statins that cause this. More about study... While the news stories say "older women benefit from …
Read More