(Press-News.org) Ann Arbor, Mich. -- Adults who undergo a minimally invasive technique to treat atrial fibrillation are significantly less likely to die from a heart attack or heart failure, according to a long-term study by the University of Michigan Frankel Cardiovascular Center.
More than 4 million people have atrial fibrillation, an age-related heart rhythm disorder that can cause a fluttering sensation in the chest and impair the heart's ability to pump blood.
The study published in Heart Rhythm shows cardiovascular mortality dropped by 60 percent among adults who had their normal heart rhythm restored through catheter ablation.
"The study findings show the benefit of catheter ablation extends beyond improving quality of life for adults with atrial fibrillation. If successful, ablation improves life span," says lead study author Hamid Ghanbari, M.D., M.P.H., an electrophysiologist at the U-M Cardiovascular Center.
Even older patients and those with diabetes, a history of stroke and heart disease, sleep apnea and low ejection fraction saw the cardiovascular survival benefits of ablation, according to the study.
An accompanying editorial, characterizing atrial fibrillation ablation as a death-defying endeavor, says the thought-provoking study provides encouraging results for those involved in treating atrial fibrillation.
Researchers evaluated the 10-year medical history of 3,058 adults who had catheter ablation -- most of them men averaging 58 years old with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation that comes and goes on its own.
The study is one of the first and longest looks ever at the clinical outcome of ablation treatment.
Catheter ablation is a common procedure that has evolved through innovations in catheter technology and development of antiarrhythmic and anticoagulant drugs.
The procedure requires insertion of a catheter into an upper chamber of the heart and delivery of radiofrequency energy to disrupt the short circuits causing atrial fibrillation.
The U-M Electrophysiology Program has performed more than 4,000 ablation procedures and participated in studies to perfect ablation tools.
INFORMATION:
Additional authors: Kazim Baser, M.D.; Krit Jongnarangsin, M.D.; Aman Chugh, M.D.; Brahmajee K. Nallamothu, M.D., M.P.H.; Brenda W. Gillespie, Ph.D.; Hatice Duygu Bas, M.D.; Arisara Swangasool, M.D.; Thomas Crawford, M.D.; Rakesh Latchamsetty, M.D.; Eric Good D.O.; Frank Pelosi Jr, M.D.; Frank Bogun, M.D.; Fred Morady, M.D. and senior author Hakan Oral, M.D., all of the University of Michigan Health System.
Reference: "Mortality and Cerebrovascular Events After radiofrequency Catheter Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation," Heart Rhythm, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.hrthm.2014.05.003
Funding: Birkhill Family Foundation
Ablation increases survival for adults with atrial fibrillation
University of Michigan study takes long-term look at treatment of Afib
2014-07-30
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Mercury's magnetic field tells scientists how its interior is different from Earth's
2014-07-30
Earth and Mercury are both rocky planets with iron cores, but Mercury's interior differs from Earth's in a way that explains why the planet has such a bizarre magnetic field, UCLA planetary physicists and colleagues report.
Measurements from NASA's Messenger spacecraft have revealed that Mercury's magnetic field is approximately three times stronger at its northern hemisphere than its southern one. In the current research, scientists led by Hao Cao, a UCLA postdoctoral scholar working in the laboratory of Christopher T. Russell, created a model to show how the dynamics ...
Differential gene expression in proximal and distal nerve segments after sciatic nerve injury
2014-07-30
Wallerian degeneration is a subject of major interest in neuroscience. A large number of genes are differentially regulated during the distinct stages of Wallerian degeneration: transcription factor activation, immune response, myelin cell differentiation and dedifferentiation. Although gene expression responses in the distal segment of the sciatic nerve after peripheral nerve injury are known, differences in gene expression between the proximal and distal segments remain unclear. Dr. Dengbing Yao and co-workers from Nantong University, China used microarrays to analyze ...
Implanting 125I seeds into rat DRG for neuropathic pain: Only neuronal microdamage occurs
2014-07-30
The use of iodine-125 (125I) in cancer treatment has been shown to relieve patients' pain. Considering dorsal root ganglia are critical for neural transmission between the peripheral and central nervous systems, Dr. Tengda Zhang and colleagues from Institute of Radiation Medicine, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, China assumed that 125I could be implanted into rat dorsal root ganglia (DRG) to provide relief for neuropathic pain. 125I seeds with different radioactivity (0, 14.8, 29.6 MBq) were implanted separately into the vicinity of the L5 DRG. Experimental results ...
Facilitating transparency in spinal cord injury studies using recognized information standards
2014-07-30
Progress in developing robust therapies for spinal cord injury (SCI), traumatic brain injury (TBI) and peripheral nerve injury has been slow. A great deal has been learned over the past 30 years regarding both the intrinsic factors and the environmental factors that regulate axon growth, but this large body of information has not yet resulted in clinically available therapeutics. Prof. Lemmon and his team from University of Miami in USA proposed this therapeutic bottleneck has many root causes, but a consensus is emerging that one contributing factor is a lack of standards ...
Dyscalculia: Burdened by blunders with numbers
2014-07-30
Between 3 and 6% of schoolchildren suffer from an arithmetic-related learning disability. Researchers at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich now show that these children are also more likely to exhibit deficits in reading and spelling than had been previously suspected.
Addition and subtraction, multiplication and division are the four basic operations in arithmetic. But for some children, learning these fundamental skills is particularly challenging. Studies show that they have problems grasping the concepts of number, magnitude, and quantity, and that they ...
Older adults are at risk of financial abuse
2014-07-30
Nearly one in every twenty elderly American adults is being financially exploited – often by their own family members. This burgeoning public health crisis especially affects poor and black people. It merits the scrutiny of clinicians, policy makers, researchers, and any citizen who cares about the dignity and well-being of older Americans, says Dr. Janey Peterson of Weill Cornell Medical College in the US. She led one of the largest American studies¹ ever on elder abuse, the findings of which appear in the Journal of General Internal Medicine², published by Springer.
With ...
Sugar mimics guide stem cells toward neural fate
2014-07-30
Embryonic stem cells can develop into a multitude of cells types. Researchers would like to understand how to channel that development into the specific types of mature cells that make up the organs and other structures of living organisms.
One key seems to be long chains of sugars that dangle from proteins on surfaces of cells.
Kamil Godula's group at the University of California, San Diego, has created synthetic molecules that can stand in for the natural sugars, but can be more easily manipulated to direct the process, they report in the Journal of the American ...
Peru's carbon quantified: Economic and conservation boon
2014-07-30
Washington, DC—Today scientists unveiled the first high-resolution map of the carbon stocks stored on land throughout the entire country of Perú. The new and improved methodology used to make the map marks a sea change for future market-based carbon economies. The new carbon map also reveals Perú's extremely high ecological diversity and it provides the critical input to studies of deforestation and forest degradation for conservation, land use, and enforcement purposes. The technique includes the determination of uncertainty of carbon stores throughout the country, which ...
New catalyst converts carbon dioxide to fuel
2014-07-30
Scientists from the University of Illinois at Chicago have synthesized a catalyst that improves their system for converting waste carbon dioxide into syngas, a precursor of gasoline and other energy-rich products, bringing the process closer to commercial viability.
Amin Salehi-Khojin, UIC professor of mechanical and industrial engineering, and his coworkers developed a unique two-step catalytic process that uses molybdenum disulfide and an ionic liquid to "reduce," or transfer electrons, to carbon dioxide in a chemical reaction. The new catalyst improves efficiency and ...
Spin-based electronics: New material successfully tested
2014-07-30
Spintronics is an emerging field of electronics, where devices work by manipulating the spin of electrons rather than the current generated by their motion. This field can offer significant advantages to computer technology. Controlling electron spin can be achieved with materials called 'topological insulators', which conduct electrons only across their surface but not through their interior. One such material, samarium hexaboride (SmB6), has long been theorized to be an ideal and robust topological insulator, but this has never been shown practically. Publishing in Nature ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Call for papers: 14th Asia-Pacific Conference on Transportation and the Environment (APTE 2025)
A novel disturbance rejection optimal guidance method for enhancing precision landing performance of reusable rockets
New scan method unveils lung function secrets
Searching for hidden medieval stories from the island of the Sagas
Breakthrough study reveals bumetanide treatment restores early social communication in fragile X syndrome mouse model
Neuroscience leader reveals oxytocin's crucial role beyond the 'love hormone' label
Twelve questions to ask your doctor for better brain health in the new year
Microelectronics Science Research Centers to lead charge on next-generation designs and prototypes
Study identifies genetic cause for yellow nail syndrome
New drug to prevent migraine may start working right away
Good news for people with MS: COVID-19 infection not tied to worsening symptoms
Department of Energy announces $179 million for Microelectronics Science Research Centers
Human-related activities continue to threaten global climate and productivity
Public shows greater acceptance of RSV vaccine as vaccine hesitancy appears to have plateaued
Unraveling the power and influence of language
Gene editing tool reduces Alzheimer’s plaque precursor in mice
TNF inhibitors prevent complications in kids with Crohn's disease, recommended as first-line therapies
Twisted Edison: Bright, elliptically polarized incandescent light
Structural cell protein also directly regulates gene transcription
Breaking boundaries: Researchers isolate quantum coherence in classical light systems
Brain map clarifies neuronal connectivity behind motor function
Researchers find compromised indoor air in homes following Marshall Fire
Months after Colorado's Marshall Fire, residents of surviving homes reported health symptoms, poor air quality
Identification of chemical constituents and blood-absorbed components of Shenqi Fuzheng extract based on UPLC-triple-TOF/MS technology
'Glass fences' hinder Japanese female faculty in international research, study finds
Vector winds forecast by numerical weather prediction models still in need of optimization
New research identifies key cellular mechanism driving Alzheimer’s disease
Trends in buprenorphine dispensing among adolescents and young adults in the US
Emergency department physicians vary widely in their likelihood of hospitalizing a patient, even within the same facility
Firearm and motor vehicle pediatric deaths— intersections of age, sex, race, and ethnicity
[Press-News.org] Ablation increases survival for adults with atrial fibrillationUniversity of Michigan study takes long-term look at treatment of Afib