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Atrial fibrillation Cycling Stuff Doctoring ICD/Pacemaker

Day 4 ESC 2013 — Female gender and AF, patient selection for CRT and a Dutch cycling adventure

On the last day of ESC2013 I attended a press conference entitled Update in Rhythmology. The purpose was to highlight four rhythm-related studies released at ESC2103. The most noteworthy of the four abstracts involved gender-related issues in atrial fibrillation therapy. French researchers used a 1.6 million patient database (including 1200 French GPs) to come up […]

AHA-2011 Poster: Gender-specific results of AF ablation in a private practice setting

Here is a PDF file of our AHA poster presentation. We looked back at our AF ablation experience over the past four years.I was curious whether reports from large centers showing that females fared less well with AF ablation were the same in our real-world cohort. Indeed they were. The presentation is only 16 slides: […]

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AF ablation Atrial fibrillation

Gender-Specific Results of AF Ablation in a Private Practice Setting

Here is our AHA poster. In powerpoint version: Gender-specific results of AF Ablation in a Private Practice Setting And in PDF: Gender-specific results of AF ablation in a Private Practice Setting-PDF The actual poster: (Click to enlarge.) I would like to thank my co-authors. Without their volunteerism and can-do ethos, we would simply not know […]

Female gender and stroke risk in atrial fibrillation: Know your CHA2DS2-VASc Score

When it comes to the risk of stroke in atrial fibrillation, it pays to be a boy. Sorry, ladies. An important question came up on my recent post on AF and stroke. Why does being female give you an automatic point on CHADS2-VASc?  I keep seeing it, but I don’t see why that is. It […]

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Atrial fibrillation Dabigatran/Rivaroxaban/Apixaban Uncategorized

Female gender and stroke risk in atrial fibrillation: Know your CHA2DS2-VASc Score

When it comes to the risk of stroke in atrial fibrillation, it pays to be a boy. Sorry, ladies. An important question came up on my recent post on AF and stroke. Why does being female give you an automatic point on CHADS2-VASc?  I keep seeing it, but I don’t see why that is. It […]

Categories
AF ablation Doctoring

Gender differences in the treatment of Atrial Fib

I was recently asked a seemingly simple question about differences in how women with atrial fibrillation (AF) are treated. The questioner was referring to this large AF-ablation study published a year ago in the Heart Rhythm Journal. Researchers at St David’s Hospital in Austin, TX reported striking differences in the outcomes and complications of more […]

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Atrial fibrillation Dabigatran/Rivaroxaban/Apixaban Doctoring General Cardiology General Medicine

Should You Take an Anticoagulant for AF? — Applying the 4 questions

Yesterday I posted the four most important questions to ask your doctor. Let’s apply those questions to a typical scenario: Whether or not to take an anticoagulant drug for prevention of stroke in the presence of AF. We need a typical patient. For this example we will pick a typical CHADS-VASC 2 patient. 65 year-old […]

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AF ablation Atrial fibrillation General Ablation Healthy Living

Are women with AF being under-treated with ablation?

This post is an introduction to commentary I made recently over at theHeart.org on Medscape. Gender features in the discussion, but there are lessons for men and women with AF. *** A large study from a group of Stanford researchers made three big observations on AF ablation: Women, compared with men, presented for first AF […]

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Doctoring General Cardiology General Medicine

Think twice before having carotid artery surgery

Hundreds of thousands of people have undergone surgery or stents to “fix” blockages in their carotid arteries. (The left and right carotids are the main arteries to the brain.) Most of the these people (about 90%) reported no complaints. We say they are asymptomatic. The blockages were discovered on exam or by ultrasound of the […]

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AF ablation Athletic heart Atrial fibrillation Doctoring General Medicine Health Care Healthy Living Social Media/Writing/Blogging

Athletes, AF, Anticoagulants, Statins, Peanuts, and Dishwashers

Here is an update on my recent writing. Athletes and AF: I was honored to be invited back to the Western AF symposium in Park City, Utah. Last year, I presented on social media. This year, Dr. Nassir Marrouche (University of Utah) asked me to tackle the topic of atrial fibrillation in athletes. This is […]

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AF ablation Atrial fibrillation Doctoring Healthy Living

Two AF cases — and my changing view of AF

I receive many emails about AF. I don’t often answer them because it is bad practice to doctor without seeing the person. Recently, however, I received a note with more general questions. The sender suggested I could use the response as a blog post. The reason I am posting these two cases along with my […]