The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is currently appraising the use of dronedarone (Multaq) for the treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF) – a disturbance of the heart’s rhythm. In its final draft guidance, NICE has reaffirmed the decision in its previous draft to recommend the limited use of the drug as a second-line treatment in people with additional cardiovascular risk factors whose AF has not been controlled by first-line therapy.

Read the full story here

Obstructive sleep apnea is a frequent comorbidity in patients suffering from atrial fibrillation, and polysomnography should be used to diagnose it. According to a research presented at SLEEP 2010: Associated Professional Sleep Societies 24th Annual Meeting, portable diagnostic methods underestimate the incidence of obstructive sleep apnea in these patients.
Read the full story here.

A new algorithm can now detect atrial fibrillation with a 95 accuracy. This is a huge improvement over previous methods. Atrial fibrillation, which affects about three million Americans, is an independent risk factor for death and a major cause of ischemic stroke, in which blood flow is reduced to part of the brain. Atrial Fibrillation can be treated, but it is notoriously difficult to detect. The new algorithm was developed by Ki H. Chon, PhD, head of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), in partnership with Snehraj Merchant of The ScottCare Corporation.

To read the full article, click here.