The Next 10 Years in Atrial Fibrillation

[Kaz747]

Interesting read ....

uscjournal.com/articles/10-...

[Aus19]

Many thanks for posting this. I don't know where you find this stuff, Kaz747!

[Kaz747 in reply to Aus19]

I have been dubbed the “Queen of Social Media” on many occasions 👑. In fact I’ve delivered a number of presentations and training sessions on it. You just have to follow the right people, conversations and hashtags 😉

[Aus19 in reply to Kaz747]

It's an excellent summary, much appreciated. I guess you probably already follow the blogs of Dr John Mandrola and The Skeptical Cardiologist, both of which are instructive. We need an Aussie EP to start blogging!

[Kaz747 in reply to Aus19]

Yes I do. There’s a couple of Aussie cardiologists that I follow who focus on lifestyle - not EPs but they often speak of AF, Dr Ross Walker in Sydney and Dr Warwick Bishop in Hobart. Dr Bishop has a book all about AF coming out soon.

[Ianc2 in reply to Kaz747]

Thanks for posting. Interesting comments on the increasing recognition of lifestyle issues in managing this problem

[Hidden]

Thanks. Interesting comment about insurers refusing cover for procedures for overweight patients. Not sure how that would go down if the NHS tried that!

[Kaz747 in reply to Hidden]

No it wouldn’t happen in Australia either. As is often said, “only in America.....” 😃

[MarkS in reply to Hidden]

That's very interesting. I guess the insurers are saying that if someone's overweight, then the AF is more likely to return so it's a waste of our time and money. That's a problem with the NHS, it picks up the pieces whatever people do to themselves. So much of the money spent by the NHS is on treating diseases which are preventable.

[Kaz747 in reply to MarkS]

Yes and it’s good to see more doctors coming on board with lifestyle recommendations. There’s a long way to go though as so many people have lives that are out of control. We need a real societal shift.

[Auriculaire in reply to Kaz747]

Governments could do a lot more too. Ie either ban the advertising of fizzy drinks or put a tax on them and use the money to follow the ads with a health warning.

[Ianc2 in reply to Hidden]

It was tried, briefly, in N. Yorkshire. Predictably there was total hoo- ha and the whole exercise was abandoned.

[Hidden in reply to Ianc2]

Ironically, the health care costs consequent to nicotine and alcohol addiction are well funded by the high level of excise duties they attract.

[secondtry]

Thanks much appreciated Kaz!

[Violetta25]

Interesting article. However if they're going down dictating the lifestyle route then what about runners and keep fit enthusiasts?

I'm saying that because i took up jogging in my early 40's and it wasn't until a few years into that when a heart murmur was detected. I'd had two children and it hadn't been detected before. A few years later, still running, AF began.

I was also diagnosed with an underactive thyroid in my 40's and I've need my thyroxine adjusted on a few occasions.

I always wonder if the running or thyroxine caused the heart problem.

[Kaz747 in reply to Violetta25]

Sometimes we just don’t know what causes things. My arrhythmias started after ankle surgery and my cardiologist and EP said the physical stress could have caused it. I also had preeclampsia with both pregnancies and that could have created an underlying problem which was triggered by the injury and surgery. I’m just glad our health care system in Australia and the UK treat everyone equally.

[Violetta25]

Me too but i don't think it unreasonable for the medical profession to encourage those effected to lose weight or make lifestyle adjustments when they could be exacerbating symptoms.

[Kaz747 in reply to Violetta25]

I guess it’s all about education. So many people don’t know how important eating well, sleeping and exercising are, not to mention coping with stress, until it’s too late.

[Hidden]

I thought the section on cardiac MRI particularly interesting. Targeted screening of patients at risk of AF, for atrial fibrosis and scarring would justify early intervention with ablation and the use of anticoagulants in younger patients with Chads score 0.