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News: May 28, 2012
Palpitations May Signal Future Heart Rhythm Problem
WEDNESDAY, May 16 (HealthDay News) -- Heart palpitations and high blood pressure are strong risk factors for a common heart rhythm disorder called atrial fibrillation, a new study reports. Atrial fibrillation increases a person's risk of heart att...
Statins May Help Prevent Irregular Heartbeat in Elderly
WEDNESDAY, May 9 (HealthDay News) -- The widely used class of cholesterol-lowering medications known as statins may help elderly patients with high blood pressure avoid developing atrial fibrillation, a heart rhythm abnormality tied to stroke. "Ou...
Black Africans Less Apt to Develop Heart Rhythm Disorder Than Whites
THURSDAY, May 10 (HealthDay News) -- Even though they have more risk factors, black Africans are about half as likely as white Europeans to develop a heart rhythm disorder called atrial fibrillation, a new study says. Atrial fibrillation, in which...
Stopping Blood Thinners Raises Stroke Risk for Patients With Irregular Heartbeat
WEDNESDAY, April 25 (HealthDay News) -- When patients with atrial fibrillation stop taking anti-clotting drugs, their stroke risk goes up quickly, new research finds. That risk increases about the same whether they are taking warfarin or a newer, ...
Rheumatoid Arthritis May Raise Risk of Heart Rhythm Disorder
THURSDAY, March 8 (HealthDay News) -- People with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are at increased risk for a heart rhythm disorder called atrial fibrillation, a new study finds. The research involved more than 4 million people, including more than 18,0...
Plavix's New Generic Status Could Be Boon for Patients
TUESDAY, May 15 (HealthDay News) -- The blockbuster drug Plavix (clopidogrel), used to prevent clotting in some heart patients, will go off patent in the United States on Thursday, making it considerably more affordable. Adherence rates will impro...
Irregular Heartbeat May Predict Mental Decline in Some
MONDAY, Feb. 27 (HealthDay News) -- A potentially dangerous heart rhythm problem called atrial fibrillation is a strong predictor of mental and physical decline in older people at risk for heart disease, new research suggests. In the study, publis...
New Anti-Clotting Drug May Cut Brain Bleeding Risk: Study
THURSDAY, Feb. 2 (HealthDay News) -- A new medication that helps prevent strokes in people with the abnormal heart rhythm disorder known as atrial fibrillation poses less risk of bleeding in the brain than a commonly used drug, research comparing ...
New Blood Thinner Linked to Higher Heart Attack Risk
MONDAY, Jan. 9 (HealthDay News) -- The anticoagulant Pradaxa (dabigatran) is associated with a small increase in the risk of heart attack, a new review finds. Researchers from the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio looked at seven trials involving Pradaxa t...
Self-Monitoring of Blood Thinner May Halve Clot Risk
WEDNESDAY, Nov. 30 (HealthDay News) -- People taking the blood-thinning drug warfarin who monitor their own blood and adjust their dosage can reduce the risk of blood clots by half, British researchers report. Warfarin (Coumadin, Jantoven) is take...
Experimental Drug for Irregular Heart Rhythm Raises Death Risk: Study
MONDAY, Nov. 14 (HealthDay News) -- A once-promising drug for a common and dangerous form of irregular heart rhythm actually seems to raise the odds for patient death, a new study finds. The drug, dronedarone, had seemed effective against the non-...
Sepsis Plus Heart Rhythm Disorder Linked to Stroke, Death
SUNDAY, Nov. 13 (HealthDay News) -- Patients who develop atrial fibrillation -- a heart rhythm disorder -- for the first time while they are hospitalized with severe sepsis are at increased risk for stroke and death, a new study finds. Atrial fibr...
Blood Thinner Xarelto Shows Promise for Heart Patients
SUNDAY, Nov. 13 (HealthDay News) -- When added to standard treatment, a new blood-thinning drug called Xarelto (rivaroxaban) may help people with "acute coronary syndrome" lower their risk of death, subsequent heart attack or stroke, a new study f...
Experts Point Out Signs of Dangerous Heart Rhythm
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 28 (HealthDay News) -- People who experience what feels like drums pounding in their chest, shortness of breath, chest pain and dizziness may suffer from the common but potentially dangerous heart arrhythmia known as atrial fibril...
Many With Irregular Heartbeat Unaware of Raised Stroke Risk
FRIDAY, Sept. 23 (HealthDay News) -- Half of the 2.7 million Americans affected by an irregular heartbeat, known as atrial fibrillation, deny or do not know they are at greater risk for stroke, according to a new survey from the American Heart Ass...
New Blood Thinner May Outperform Warfarin for Irregular Heartbeat
SUNDAY, Aug. 28 (HealthDay News) -- An experimental drug, apixaban (Eliquis), appears better than the old standby warfarin in preventing strokes in people with the abnormal heart rhythm called atrial fibrillation, a new study finds. Over 2.6 milli...
Painkillers May Raise Risk of Dangerous Heart Flutter
TUESDAY, July 5 (HealthDay News) -- A new study finds that painkillers widely used to treat inflammation are associated with an increased risk of atrial fibrillation, a heart rhythm disorder connected with a raised risk of stroke, heart failure an...
Blood Pressure Drug Helps Those With Mild Heart Failure
SUNDAY, May 22 (HealthDay News) -- New Swedish research suggests that the drug Inspra reduces the threat of major cardiovascular complications among patients who have a mild form of heart failure. This latest finding builds on earlier work that wa...
Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis May Raise Risk of Abnormal Heart Rhythm
FRIDAY, May 6 (HealthDay News) -- People with two common inflammatory diseases stand a higher chance of developing a heart condition that is strongly associated with stroke, a new study suggests. The study, done at the University of Arkansas for M...
Yoga May Also Calm a Dangerous Irregular Heartbeat
SATURDAY, April 2 (HealthDay News) -- In a small preliminary study, the ancient art of yoga appeared to halve the number of episodes of a potentially dangerous irregular heartbeat known as atrial fibrillation. Three sessions of yoga a week also im...
Irregular Heart Beat Plus Stroke May Increase Dementia Risk
MONDAY, March 7 (HealthDay News) -- People who suffer a stroke and also have an irregular heart rhythm called atrial fibrillation may be at greater risk of developing dementia than stroke survivors without the heart condition, British researchers ...
Experts Issue New Heart Disease Guidelines forWomen
TUESDAY, Feb. 15 (HealthDay News) -- Preventing heart attacks and strokes is very similar in women and men, with a few small but important differences, according to new guidelines from the American Heart Association. Each year, 55,000 more U.S. wo...
New Guidelines OK Pradaxa Blood Thinner as Option for Irregular Heartbeat
MONDAY, Feb. 14 (HealthDay News) -- For patients with the heart rhythm disorder atrial fibrillation, a new anti-clotting drug called Pradaxa (dabigatran) can be used as an alternative to warfarin, according to updated guidelines released Monday. A...
Having Relative With Atrial Fibrillation Raises Own Risk
SATURDAY, Nov. 13 (HealthDay News) -- People who have a first-degree relative with atrial fibrillation are at increased risk themselves for the potentially deadly heart rhythm disorder, a new study finds. U.S. researchers analyzed data from 4,421 ...
New Blood Thinner a Promising Alternative to Warfarin
MONDAY, Nov. 15 (HealthDay News) -- A new blood thinner might be a viable alternative to warfarin (Coumadin), the standard for decades to treat patients with the dangerous heart rhythm disorder known as atrial fibrillation. In research presented M...
Omega-3 Supplements Won't Fight Irregular Heartbeat
MONDAY, Nov. 15 (HealthDay News) -- Omega-3 fatty acid supplements don't cut back on recurrences of atrial fibrillation, a type of irregular heartbeat that can cause stroke, new research suggests. "We now have definitive data that they don't work ...
Pradaxa Approved for Atrial Fibrillation
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 20 (HealthDay News) -- Pradaxa (dabigatran etexilate) has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to help prevent stroke in people with a type of abnormal heart rhythm called atrial fibrillation. The condition, which...
Pradaxa Approved to Fight Dangerous Irregular Heartbeat, Stroke
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 20 (HealthDay News) -- The drug Pradaxa has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to help prevent stroke in people with a type of abnormal heart rhythm called atrial fibrillation. The drug may prove a new option fo...
Surgery May Be Best for Irregular Heartbeat in Young
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 22 (HealthDay News) -- Young people with the kind of irregular heartbeat known as atrial fibrillation may be better off undergoing surgery to fix the problem instead of taking medication first, a new study suggests. Atrial fibrill...
Abnormal Heart Rhythm Linked to Alzheimer's
FRIDAY, April 16 (HealthDay News) -- People with atrial fibrillation, a form of abnormal heart rhythm, are more likely than others to develop dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, a new study finds. The presence of atrial fibrillation also pred...
Freezing, Medicating Away a Dangerous Irregular Heart Rhythm
MONDAY, March 15 (HealthDay News) -- New data presented at a major cardiology meeting Monday brought mostly good news on atrial fibrillation, the potentially dangerous abnormal heartbeat that afflicts more than 2 million Americans. In atrial fibri...
Women More Likely to Fail Treatment for Atrial Fibrillation
TUESDAY, Feb. 9 (HealthDay News) -- New research reveals that women are more likely than men to fail catheter ablation treatments for atrial fibrillation. Also, men undergo the procedures five times as often as women and usually have fewer complic...
New Blood Thinner Could Replace Warfarin to Fight Venous Clots
MONDAY, Dec. 7 (HealthDay News) A new blood thinner called dabigatran etexilate may be just as effective in preventing dangerous venous clots as an old standby, warfarin, but much easier for doctors and patients to manage, a new study finds. Dabig...
Alternative to Warfarin May Cut Risk of Bleeding
SUNDAY, Nov. 15 (HealthDay News) -- The anti-clotting drug dabigatran etexilate (Pradaxa) may be more effective and safer than warfarin at preventing clots and stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation, a new Swedish study has found. Warfarin is...
Obesity Seems to Alter Heart Structure
MONDAY, Nov. 9 (HealthDay News) -- Obesity is a major risk factor for left atrial enlargement, which increases the risk of atrial fibrillation, stroke and death, a new study shows. Atrial fibrillation is the most common type of arrhythmia (an irre...
Irregular Heartbeat Risk Higher in Women With Type 2 Diabetes
MONDAY, Sept. 28 (HealthDay News) -- Women with type 2 diabetes have a 26 percent increased risk of developing atrial fibrillation, a potentially life-threatening irregular heartbeat, new findings suggest. The overall incidence of atrial fibrillat...
Women With Atrial Fibrillation Face Rougher Road Than Men
THURSDAY, Sept. 24 (HealthDay News) -- Women with atrial fibrillation are significantly more likely to have a stroke or die than are men with the heart condition, a new study has found. Despite this, the study suggests, women with the condition re...
Caffeine Without Healthy Diet Linked to Heart Risk
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 2 (HealthDay News) -- People who drink lots of coffee but who don't follow a Mediterranean-style diet are more likely to have atrial fibrillation, a new study shows. Italian researchers asked patients who'd been recently diagnosed...
Oldest Heart Patients May Get Most From Warfarin
MONDAY, Aug. 31 (HealthDay News) -- Older patients, or those with a prior history of stroke, are most likely to get a benefit when using warfarin to treat atrial fibrillation, a common heart rhythm disorder, a new study finds. Kaiser Permanente an...
New Anti-Clotting Drug Beats Plavix
SUNDAY, Aug. 30 (HealthDay News) -- A new anti-clotting drug, ticagrelor (Brilinta), was better than than clopidogrel (Plavix) in preventing new heart attacks and in reducing deaths among patients who have had a heart attack, a new study finds. "C...
Device May Offer Alternative to Warfarin forArrhythmia
FRIDAY, Aug. 14 (HealthDay News) -- Closing the heart's left atrial appendage could offer an alternative to long-term warfarin treatment for people with non-valvular atrial fibrillation who are at risk for stroke, according to a new study. Atrial ...
Electrocardiogram Blip Signals Heart Trouble
TUESDAY, June 23 (HealthDay News) -- A slight abnormality in an electrocardiogram (EKG), until now thought to be insignificant, can be a warning sign of future cardiac problems and an increased risk of early death, a new study indicates. Lengtheni...
Irregular Heartbeat Tied to Alzheimer's Disease
FRIDAY, May 15 (HealthDay News) -- The abnormal heartbeat called atrial fibrillation is associated with later development of Alzheimer's disease, a large-scale study finds. There are three possible explanations for the relationship, each of which ...
Catheter Ablation Effective in Treating Atrial Fibrillation
THURSDAY, May 14 (HealthDay News) -- Treating an irregular heartbeat by searing faulty heart tissue may be more effective than treating with medication, a new study shows. Nearly two-thirds of study participants with atrial fibrillation experience...
Risk Factor for Stroke More Common Among Whites
WEDNESDAY, May 13 (HealthDay News) -- Whites are more likely than blacks to experience atrial fibrillation, a cause of stroke, even though blacks have a higher prevalence of risk factors such as high blood pressure, new research shows. About 2.2 m...
Abnormal Heartbeat After Bypass a Bad Sign
FRIDAY, April 24 (HealthDay News) -- People who develop the heartbeat abnormality called atrial fibrillation after heart bypass surgery are at increased long-term risk of dying, a new study finds. The report sounds a warning bell for doctors about...
Blood Pressure Drug May Not Ease Irregular Heartbeat
WEDNESDAY, April 15 (HealthDay News) -- The blood pressure drug valsartan may not prevent episodes of a dangerous abnormal heart rhythm called atrial fibrillation, an Italian study finds. Earlier research had suggested that valsartan (Diovan) migh...
Larger Men at Greater Risk for Atrial Fibrillation
WEDNESDAY, April 8 (HealthDay News) -- Larger men are more likely to suffer atrial fibrillation (abnormal heart rhythms) than other men, according to Swedish researchers. Beginning in 1970, the study surveyed more than 7,000 men aged 45 to 55, inc...
Plavix Plus Aspirin Lowers Stroke Risk
TUESDAY, March 31 (HealthDay News) -- Combining the clot-preventing drug Plavix with aspirin is an effective substitute treatment for people at high risk of stroke and heart attack because of the abnormal heart rhythm called atrial fibrillation bu...
New Device Treats Common Heart Rhythm Disorder
SATURDAY, March 28 (HealthDay News) -- An implanted device may soon replace the anti-clotting drug warfarin as the first line of treatment for many people with atrial fibrillation, a new study suggests. People with atrial fibrillation have a sixfo...
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