Atrial Fibrillation

Oral anticoagulation with rivaroxaban must continue while initiating a switch to warfarin. Duration of overlap will be variable.

Direct thrombin inhibitor dabigatran or factor Xa inhibitor apixaban or rivaroxaban? All are good choices for specific patient types.

Adult-onset psoriasis is uncommon without a precipitating factor. In this patient’s case, an oral beta-blocker precipitated the psoriasis.

New oral anticoagulants require careful initiation and follow-up. A new guide is offered by the European Heart Rhythm Association.

HAS-BLED, HEMORRHAGES, OBRI: Risk calculators to assess potential for bleeding in AF patients before anticoagulation.

Periprocedural dabigatran increases the risk of bleeding and thromboembolic complications compared with warfarin during radiofrequency ablation of AF.

The CHA2DS2-VASc score improves risk determination by incorporating age 65 to 74 years, female sex, and history of vascular disease.

Aldosterone antagonists, eg, eplerenone, decrease adverse cardiovascular outcomes in patients with HF and AF.

Acute renal infarction most often causes flank pain associated with nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and, less frequently, fever.

Colesevelam helps reduce serum glucose levels and also lowers LDL-C in patients with type 2 diabetes. Bromocriptine reduces the relative risk of cardiovascular events in patients with type 2 diabetes.

CD4+ count and viral load were complementary and were independently associated with increased incidence of AF.

Interruption of anticoagulation with rivaroxaban or warfarin should be bridged with an agent such as low-molecular weight heparin.

Could the left atrial appendage closure device, known as the Watchman, become an alternative to oral anticoagulation for select patients? Here, more on the 2 trials that have introduced the possibility.

Here: how omega-3 fatty acids may help reduce the risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) in postcardiac surgery patients; how incident HF can help predict adverse outcomes in patients with AF; and why an old gout drug may help reduce the risk of AF in patients with heart failure.

Antidepressants and pre-term delivery; annual BP check?; stroke before age 50; niacin questioned; incretins and pancreatic disease

Depending on the specific type of event, stroke at age 50 years or younger increased mortality at least 3-fold.

PREVAIL study of Watchman left atrial appendage closure device confirms device safety and meets primary safety endpoint.

Rivaroxaban rejected;HIV cure; EHR complaints; primary care errors; patient safety imperatives.

The strategy of catheter ablation–based rhythm control in patients with long-standing persistent atrial fibrillation (AF) plus heart failure (HF) was found superior to pharmacologic rate control for improving cardiopulmonary exercise capacity, quality of life, and neurohormonal status in this small, randomized study.

Breakdowns in the clinical encounter were related to history taking, physical examination, and ordering of diagnostic tests and

A recent meta-analysis of beta-blocker use in patients with HF found that the drugs conferred no reduction in rates of mortality or hospitalization among patients with comorbid AF.

FDA Rejects ACS Indication for Rivaroxaban for the second time.

Does this look like melanoma? Which is not true of Löfgren syndrome? Yoga and Afib; what cause of mental confusion? Skin lesions and HIV.. . . See if you can answer this week's quiz questions.

Patients with documented atrial fibrillation given intensive yoga instruction had a reduction in symptomatic and asymptomatic AF episodes.

Atrial fibrillation can do a great deal of damage. This is a reality that those who regularly drink more than moderately need to be made aware of.

Something new to worry about: this study shows that atrial fibrillation is independently associated with increased risk of dementia.

Flavonoid-rich berries; what cause of cerebral infarct; genital lesions; drowsy child; oral lesions. . . . can you answer the 5 quiz questions?

PFO can be detected in 10% to 15% of the population by transthoracic echocardiogram. Autopsy studies show a prevalence of PFO of approximately 26%.

Here: the story of how cocaine was discovered by the Europeans and Americans, how it affected two giants of medicine-and how it played a key role in Detroit's economy and in the formation of what was once one of the world's biggest pharmaceutical companies.

The authors present a case of rupture of the rectus abdominis muscle with subsequent rectus sheath hematoma-an uncommon and often misdiagnosed cause of acute abdominal pain.