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Search for: "cardiac arrhythmias" - 134 articles found

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Article • From ablation to neuromodulation

The new era of functional radiosurgery

Functional brain radiosurgery is an application of stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), representing its newest clinical field. It is a precise, non-invasive medical technique using focused ionising radiation to precisely target specific brain structures to modulate brain function for neurological disorders, psychiatric conditions, or intractable pain. The technology offers “precision without…

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Article • Diagnostic and care support

Atrial fibrillation: digital technology to the rescue?

Machine learning (ML) for personalised care, large language models for empathy training of cardiologists, wearable sensor data for better screening, and more: Digital technologies hold great potential to improve diagnosis and treatment of patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). At the ESC 2024 cardiology congress in London, four experts explored the benefits of new solutions and pointed out…

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Article • Experts explore the future of CSP, CRT, ICD

Implantable cardiac devices: which techniques are ready for prime time?

Opposing views on new implantable cardiac devices were aired in a Great Debate session at the European Society of Cardiology’s annual 2024 congress in London. Experts discussed emerging techniques and technologies and debated whether they are actually ready for clinical application. At the core of the session was the issue of whether conduction system pacing (CSP) should replace cardiac…

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Article • Possibilities and risks

AI in cardiology: so much is feasible – but is everything useful?

It might sound like science fiction but it is reality in cardiology: with the help of artificial intelligence (AI) physicians can recognize from a patient’s headshot whether the person is suffering from coronary artery disease and is therefore at risk of myocardial infarction. But is that knowledge really useful? Professor Dr David Duncker calls for a differentiated and careful assessment of…

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News • 'POEMS' for cardiology

New method tracks heart activity optical and electrical simultaneously

It is still elusive to what extent interactions between different cell types of the heart influence the normal heart rhythm and possibly trigger life-threatening arrhythmias. A new measurement method developed at the University of Bern combines for the first time optical and electrical recording of cardiac ventricular activation which, in conjunction with optogenetics, will permit finding…

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News • After a heart attack

3D mapping of post-infarction scarring increases prognostic potential of cardiac MRI

A multidisciplinary team of scientists based at the Universidad de Valladolid and the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC) has developed a highly efficient method for identifying the 3-dimensional features of the scar tissue formed after a myocardial infarction. The study was carried out in partnership with scientists and clinicians at Hospital Clínico San Carlos, Hospital…

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Article • Cardiology & AI

Machine learning to predict sudden cardiac death

Could machine learning (ML) help to predict sudden cardiac death (SCD)? According to Dr Sanjiv Narayan, Professor of Medicine at Stanford University, California, many exciting studies are using ML to predict sudden death in ways not previously possible. ‘Complex data, such as MRI geometry, very large electronic health records or continuous data streams from wearables, are difficult to probe…

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News • Early detection and treatment of illnesses

Researchers develop implantable AI system

Artificial intelligence (AI) will fundamentally change medicine and healthcare: Diagnostic patient data, e.g. from ECG, EEG or X-ray images, can be analyzed with the help of machine learning, so that diseases can be detected at a very early stage based on subtle changes. However, implanting AI within the human body is still a major technical challenge. TU Dresden scientists at the Chair of…

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News • Transient implant

A pacemaker that dissolves when it's no longer needed

Researchers at Northwestern and George Washington (GW) universities have developed the first-ever transient pacemaker — a wireless, battery-free, fully implantable pacing device that disappears after it’s no longer needed. The thin, flexible, lightweight device could be used in patients who need temporary pacing after cardiac surgery or while waiting for a permanent pacemaker. All components…

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News • Cardiology

On the way to better analysis of paediatric ECGs

Physicians are increasingly using software to automatically evaluate Holter ECG signals in adult patients, but so far, no software has been developed for children. Cardiomatics and the Medical University of Warsaw are on the way to a breakthrough in paediatric cardiology. They are developing an international tool for automatic assessment, analysis, and interpretation of electrocardiographic…

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News • "Alexa, do I have an irregular heart rhythm?"

AI uses smart speakers for contactless cardiac monitoring

Smart speakers, such as Amazon Echo and Google Home, have proven adept at monitoring certain health care issues at home. For example, researchers at the University of Washington have shown that these devices can detect cardiac arrests or monitor babies breathing. But what about tracking something even smaller: the minute motion of individual heartbeats in a person sitting in front of a smart…

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News • Atrial fibrillation treatment

Gold-tipped, force sensing ablation catheter approved for CE-market

Electrophysiologists in Europe will now have access to state-of-the-art, gold-tipped force sensing ablation catheters following the Biotronik announcement that AlCath Force is CE-market approved. With the release of the unique catheter, a full suite of specialized tools for a complete solution in the treatment of complex atrial fibrillation (AF) cases is available to physicians.

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News • Cardiac complications

Immunotherapy drugs can lead to higher risk of heart problems

A study of over a thousand cancer patients treated with immunotherapy drugs has found these patients are at greater risk of heart problems, including death from heart attack or stroke. The patients had either lung cancer or malignant melanoma (a type of skin cancer), for which immune checkpoint inhibitors such as a programmed cell death-1 (PD1) inhibitors or cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated…

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Video • List by top clinicians and researchers

Top 10 medical innovations for 2021

An up-and-coming gene therapy for blood disorders. A new class of medications for cystic fibrosis. Increased access to telemedicine. These are some of the innovations that will enhance healing and change healthcare in the coming year, according to a distinguished panel of clinicians and researchers from Cleveland Clinic. In conjunction with the 2020 Medical Innovation Summit, Cleveland Clinic…

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Sponsored • Distant experts observe adverse signs

Remote cardiac monitoring

For cardiology patients fitted with an implantable cardiac monitor, cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) or pacemaker, home monitoring is a blessing. The system also has many advantages for medical staff, as Kristina Rauholt reports. The nurse and Certified Cardiac Device Specialist for Allied Professionals (CCDS) at the Sahlgrenska University Hospital, in Sweden, has worked with home monitoring…

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News • Atrial fibrillation ablation

Superfast procedure to treat heart arrhythmia

A new procedure to correct atrial fibrillation (AF) has been performed for the first time in the UK last week at Leicester's Hospitals. AF affects 1-2% of the general population, which amounts to more than 1 million people in the UK, and increases the risk of stroke by five times. Treating the condition with medicine is often ineffective, with many patients continuing to suffer from…

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News • Wearable technology

Smart watches and fitness trackers: useful, but may increase anxiety

Is my heart beating slightly fast? Is a heart attack coming? I didn’t sleep as much as I thought I had last night – is that bad for my heart? Health apps and fitness watches can shed considerable light on how our bodies work and make recommendations for a healthy lifestyle. However, self-measuring can have a downside too, according to a new study that examined the experiences of 27 heart…

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News • Critical care

COVID-19: High mortality in hospital patients

Approximately one fifth of COVID-19 patients admitted to German hospitals between the end of February and mid-April died. For patients receiving ventilation, the mortality rate was 53%. For those not receiving ventilation, the rate was significantly lower at 16%. 17% of all patients were ventilated during this period. These are the main results of an analysis by WIdO, the research institute of…

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News • Hyperventilation vs cardiac arrhythmia

Hold your breath – save your heart?

A technique that enables patients suffering from heart conditions to hold their breath safely for over 5 minutes could have potential as part of a new treatment for cardiac arrhythmias, say researchers at the University of Birmingham. In a new study, published in Frontiers in Physiology, researchers initially proposed the technique as a new means for earlier diagnosis of ischaemic heart disease.…

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Interview • Diagnostics & therapy

AI: Hype, hope and reality

Artificial intelligence (AI) opens up a host of new diagnostic methods and treatments. Almost daily we read about physicians, researchers or companies that are developing an AI system to identify malignant lesions or dangerous cardiac patterns, or that can personalise healthcare. ‘Currently, we are too focused on the topic,’ observes Professor Christian Johner, of the Johner Institute for…

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Sponsored • A local government committed to growth

Northern Ireland’s scientific presence

‘Northern Ireland (NI) is a prime location for Life & Health Sciences businesses, thanks to a unique combination of talented people, world-class research and strong links between industry, academia and clinicians, in the commercialisation of innovative research,’ as explained by the organisers of the Northern Ireland exhibits in Hall 16 Stand K11-1. ‘The region has a strong reputation…

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Article • After myocardial infarction

Patching up a damaged heart

Scientists in the UK have developed tiny patches of engineered heart tissue that have the potential to be implanted to help people recover from a heart attack. Measuring approximately 3cm x 2cm, the patches contain up to 50 million human-induced pluripotent stem cell derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CM). Yet, these are programmed to turn into working heart muscle that can beat and gradually be…

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Sponsored • Pioneering cardiology

Implantable cardiac monitor gets diagnosis in just three days

It started as a fairly typical case: The 79-year-old patient had suffered unexplained dizziness for years. To diagnose why, the cardiology team at Sweden’s Kalmar Hospital performed echocardiograms, Holter ECGs and other tests. However, these tests showed normal sinus rhythm and thus were inconclusive. Dr Hendrik Schreyer, Dr David Olsson and Professor Jörg Carlsson decided to use…

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Video • Tailor-made

Artificial heart valves from silicone

Scientists at ETH Zürich and the South African company Strait Access Technologies are using 3D printing to produce custom-made artificial heart valves from silicone. This could help meet an ageing population’s growing demand for replacement heart valves. The human heart has four chambers, each equipped with a valve to ensure blood flow in one direction only. If any of the heart valves are…

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News • Biomonitor III

The next generation injectable cardiac monitor

Biotronik announces the market release of its new injectable cardiac monitor (ICM), Biomonitor III, following approval in the CE region. The novel device is designed to help patients with irregular heart rhythms by documenting suspected arrhythmia or unexplained syncope with increased clarity. As the most common type of arrhythmia, 33.5 million patients worldwide suffer from atrial fibrillation…

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Article • Morphology, texture, function, metabolism

Radiomics will transform tumour characterisation

Tumours change over time – and not only in size. They also evolve genetically, mutate and spread through equally diverse metastases. Each is unique and present with a more or less complex structure, but rarely as a unified entity. Characterising them from A to Z and from detection to neutralisation remains a challenge for modern medicine.

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Video • New treatment options

Unlocking the secrets of cell communication

Portland State University (PSU) researchers have made a significant breakthrough by developing the 3-D structure of proteins from inside the eye lens that control how cells communicate with each other, which could open the door to treating diseases such as cataracts, stroke and cancer. The PSU research team, led by chemistry professor Steve Reichow, used a multimillion-dollar microscope and a…

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Sponsored • Cardio app

AI system screens early Phase AFib

Here at Medica, the Taiwanese start-up Maisense is demonstrating Freescan, its artificial intelligence (AI) based solution to screen for stroke through the early detection of atrial fibrillation (AFib). Speaking of the system’s aims, Maisense summed up this huge health problem. ‘Every four minutes, someone dies of stroke. Thirteen percent of these are classified as haemorrhagic stroke. When…

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Article • Innovation

AI helpers simplify clinical MRI scans

The new 1.5 Tesla MRI from Siemens Healthineers, Magnetom Sola, is packed with helpful algorithms and other functions. AI-supported systems monitor patients and scan parameters and ensure consistent image quality. Whilst visitors at this year’s ECR-Expo admired the new device, Prof. Ulrike Attenberger has already tested it in practice.

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Article • Arrhythmia news

Cardiology goes multidisciplinary

Intervention in ventricular arrhythmia has improved dramatically over the past three decades thanks to advances in imaging and cooperation between cardiology and radiology, according to Professor Josep Brugada MD, director of the paediatric arrhythmia unit at Sant Joan de Déu Hospital in Barcelona. ‘Echocardiography, CT and MRI, combined with cardiology,’ he said, ‘have revolutionised the…

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Article • MR Fingerprinting and Compressed Sensing

The impact of a radiological transformation

MR Fingerprinting and Compressed Sensing are two procedures that will facilitate much faster MR sequencing than currently possible – and more. ‘MR Fingerprinting will revolutionise MRI scanning,’ according to Dr Siegfried Trattnig, head of the Centre of Excellence for High-Field MRI at the Medical University of Vienna in Austria. ‘It will completely change the way MRI scans are currently…

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News • Power of the heart

Gene therapy can make the heart stop atrial fibrillation itself

The heart is capable of terminating arrhythmias itself after local gene therapy, potentially avoiding the need for patients to undergo painful electric shocks, according to a proof-of-concept study presented today at EHRA 2018, a European Society of Cardiology congress. Atrial fibrillation is the most common heart rhythm disorder (arrhythmia). Treatment aims to restore the heart’s normal rhythm…

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News • Ventricular tachycardia

Deadly heart rhythm halted by noninvasive radiation therapy

Radiation therapy often is used to treat cancer patients. Now, doctors at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shown that radiation therapy — aimed directly at the heart — can be used to treat patients with a life-threatening heart rhythm. They treated five patients who had irregular heart rhythms, called ventricular tachycardia, at the School of Medicine. The patients…

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Article • Annual conference

The role of cardiology at the extremes

Cardiology at the extremes will be the key theme at the British Cardiovascular Society annual conference in Manchester in June. Topics covered include reflections in cardiology and space travel, physiological challenges associated with living under extreme environmental conditions and polar expeditions. Report: Mark Nicholls

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Article • Computer & computed tomography

The virtual-heart arrhythmia risk predictor

Research by a team at John Hopkins University (JHU) in Baltimore, USA highlights the patients who are most likely to face lethal arrhythmias. They have developed a personalised 3-D virtual heart that can help predict the risk of sudden cardiac death.

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News • MRI AutoDetect

BIOTRONIK Wins Cardiostim Innovation Award

BIOTRONIK has won the Cardiostim Innovation Award in the category “Best Practice Improvement” for its MRI AutoDetect feature. The company’s Ilivia implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) and cardiac resynchronization device (CRT-Ds) are the world’s first equipped with a sensor capable of automatically recognizing a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) environment.

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Article • Preview

Prediction and Prevention theme for cardiovascular conference

Topics of big data, the genetic basis of coronary artery disease and sudden cardiac death in the young are among key subjects for British cardiologists at their 2016 annual conference. With a central theme of “Prediction and Prevention”, the 2016 British Cardiovascular Society annual conference takes place in Manchester from June 6-8 and features innovative and interactive presentations,…

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Endurance athletes should be tested for fatal heart condition

Some athletes who take part in endurance exercise such as marathon running, endurance triathlons or alpine cycling can develop irregularities in their heartbeats that can, occasionally, lead to their sudden death. Evidence published in the European Heart Journal by Professor La Gerche and colleagues has shown that doctors who try to detect these arrhythmias by focusing on the left ventricle of…

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Cardiac resynchronisation

This summer the world’s first implantations of Biotronik’s new ICD and CRT-D series (implantable cardioverter-defibrillators and cardiac resynchronisation therapy defibrillators) took place at the Spedali Civili Hospital, Brescia, Italy.

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Diagnosing from a distance

An echocardiography system that conveniently slips into a coat pocket, this kind of miniature device is now commercially available. Portable ultrasound has been around for about a decade, but until recently the machines were about the size of a laptop rather than that of a smart-phone

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Top billing for cardiac MRI

Today, magnetic resonance imaging receives top billing in cardiology next to the co-star computed tomography while much hailed single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) plays but a minor role.

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Trends in cardiac pacing

‘Sacrilegious meddling with divine providence’ was the charge brought against New York cardiologist Alfred Hyman in the 1930s when, after successful animal experiments, he applied the first cardiac pacemaker – then still a cumbersome external device – in human patients. A quarter of a century later the first cardiac pacemaker, mounted in a shoe polish tin and covered by epoxy resin, was…

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Treatment options for atrial fibrillation to prevent a stroke

Neurocardiology – especially atrial fibrillation (AF) – was the key topic during a press conference held during the 55th Annual Congress of the Germany Society for Clinical Neurophysiology and Functional Imaging (DGKN) this March. For good reason: Worldwide, there are around six million AF sufferers -- and it is one of the most common causes of stroke because this cardiac irregularity can…

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When the heart gives up

This April the 77th Annual Meeting of the German Cardiac Society (DGK) presented over 300 events with 1,800 speakers, covering the entire spectrum of cardiovascular diseases, from fundamental research to clinical routine. Professor Gerd Hasenfuss, Director of the Department of Cardiology and Pulmonology and Chair of the Heart Research Centre in Gottingen, particularly requested a focus on …

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Europe's inconsistent use of device therapy in the prevention of sudden cardiac death

Even though the use of implantable devices for the treatment of heart failure and heart rhythm disturbances has increased enormously in Europe in recent years, there still remain large differences between countries. Indeed, a report last year in the European Journal of Heart Failure found that there is an underuse of devices in many of the European countries surveyed.(1) This is especially so in…

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Picking up the pace

After years of go-slow adoption and cautious optimism, European cardiologists are now embracing remote monitoring of cardiac electrophysiology devices. ‘We are at the dawn of a new era,’ concluded Dr Philippe Ritter, Chairman of the Cardiostim 2010 congress, after reviewing findings of studies that delivered unequivocal evidence that remote monitoring is not only a safe alternative to clinic…

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Getting to the heart of things

Not only is heart failure one of the single biggest causes of morbidity and mortality in man, but the incidence of the condition is steadily increasing. Rising to this challenge, innovative medical diagnostic techniques with ever greater performance are constantly being introduced so that early, unambiguous detection of the underlying condition is now possible, enabling the prompt initiation of…

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A safe pacemaker for MRI scans

‘There are few reasons to deny a patient an MRI scan, and nearly all of them are having a pacemaker,’ said Pierre Bordachar MD at the Centre Hopitalière Universitaire (CHU), Bordeaux, France. Yet one-in-five pacemaker patients will require an MRI scan within the first year of receiving a pacemaker, while more than half of all pacemaker patients will need such a scan at some later point in…

Mapping heart diseases

Though heart disease is a major cause of disability and death, very little is understood about its genetic underpinnings. Recently, an international team of investigators at the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (IMBA), Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham) and other organizations shed new light on the subject. Studying Drosophila…

New therapy found to prevent heart failure

A landmark study has successfully demonstrated a 29 percent reduction in heart failure or death in patients with heart disease who received an implanted cardiac resynchronization therapy device with defibrillator (CRT-D) versus patients who received only an implanted cardiac defibrillator (ICD-only).

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Big disparities in the treatment of arrhythmias across Europe

The latest statistics regarding the use of pacemakers and implantable cardiac devices in Europe was presented at EUROPACE 2009, the meeting of the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA)1 which takes place in Berlin, Germany from 21 to 24 June. The data show that there is a disparate coverage of diseases and treatments within the EU and the European Society of Cardiology member countries outside…

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Better management of complex arrhythmias

Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands and global company Bard Electrophysiology are starting a collaboration to develop new clinical tools for the work of electrophysiologists and lab staff. The ambitious goals are to improve the workflow with simpler and more intuitive approaches and to gain detailed visualization for interventions within the heart's electrical circuitry.

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Stress echocardiography

'I was very surprised!' said cardiologist Dr Maria Prokudina, of the Almazof Federal Centre of Heart, Blood and Endocrinology, when invited by Professor John Elefteriades MD, head of Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Yale-New Haven Hospital (University School of Medicine) to lecture about Stress Echocardiography in Clinical Practice.

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CT: Optimising dosage

AquilionONE is the first CT scanner capable of imaging whole organ regions up to a width of 16 cm in one rotation and within a split second. Based on the raw volume data, rapid dynamic processes within an entire organ (e. g. heart, pancreas, kidney or brain) may be diagnosed with a time interval of 50 ms, i.e. with a rate of 20 volumes per second.

New Molecular Imaging Techniques Aim at Detection of Earliest Steps of Disease Development

An emerging discipline of noninvasive cardiac imaging, molecular imaging, has evolved constantly in the last few years and is increasingly being translated from the preclinical to the clinical level. Molecular imaging allows for unique insights into specific disease mechanisms and holds great promise to change the practice of cardiovascular medicine by facilitating early disease detection,…

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SYNCOPE Diagnosis and therapy

The diagnostic work-up of syncope patients often raises the question of how much diagnosis is necessary and what examination methods are really needed. To save time, specialists recommend focusing on determining whether the syncope may be caused by a cardiac problem - a question answered quite easily in many cases. Karl Eberius MD, European Hospital's new correspondent, discussed advice for…

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Trends in image-guided therapy

For the third in his series of articles for European Hospital, Professor Stefan Schönberg of the Institute of Clinical Radiology and Nuclear Medicine (IKRN), University Hospital Mannheim, Medical Faculty of Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, invited colleagues at the Faculty's Cardiology and Radiology and Nuclear Medicine departments for a round-table discussion on:

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The most useful EU-supported venture

The Eastern Lithuania Cardiology Project (ELCP) - an integral inter-institutional regional project sponsored by the Lithuanian Government and the European Structural Funds, which began in 2004 - will end this year. In May, those who voted on the Lithuanian EU Support official website (a specially organised event, focusing on all EU-supported projects in all fields) nominated this project as the…

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Atrial Fibrillation monitoring

The first implant of the Reveal XT, an insertable cardiac monitor made by US firm Medtronic, which recently received CE (Conformité Européenne) Mark, was carried out in June by Professor Karl-Heinz Kuck MD, at the Asklepios Klinik St. Georg in Hamburg, Germany.

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Slovak's private radiology institute

First came state-of-the-art equipment, then patients. Now, says Peter Bor×uta, patience is also needed, before perhaps the chance to carry out research becomes a reality. Peter Boruta MD PhD is Professor of Radiology and Head of Radiology at Slovak Medical University, in Bratislava, and Director of the Diagnostic Imaging Institute in Trnava.

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Stem Cells

By Professor Gustav Steinhoff MD, director of the Department for Cardiac Surgery, and Christof Stamm MD, co-ordinator of clinical studies, at Rostock University, Germany

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