There is interesting new information in an article today regarding the Pope's atrial fibrillation and strokes. It reports that he had a bleeding stroke in 1991, along with a stroke in 2005. The bleeding stroke could certainly explain why he was refusing anticoagulants. Even more interestingly, the article also reports that he had a pacemaker …
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Findings presented at Heart Rhythm 2010 showed that stopping atrial fibrillation—whether through medication, surgery, or in the case of this study, catheter ablation— could potentially prevent the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias and also reduce the risk of stroke and death. Doctors John D. Day, MD, and T. Jared Bunch, MD, at …
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There was an update today on the long-awaited FDA status of Atritech's WATCHMAN® device. If approved, it would provide an alternative to taking Coumadin or warfarin to prevent strokes for those with atrial fibrillation. Here are some quotes from the press release. Minneapolis (March 18, 2010) — Atritech, Inc., an emerging medical device company, announced …
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Genetic tests that show high or low sensitivity to blood thinner (anticoagulant) drugs like warfarin (Coumadin) not only improve dosing accuracy but also reduce hospitalization by 31%, according to a new study just presented at the American College of Cardiology scientific sessions. Coumadin is often prescribed for people who have afib to prevent blood clots …
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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 …
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