Beta-blockers form an essential cornerstone of therapy for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. However, the benefits of beta-blockade for heart failure in patients with concurrent atrial fibrillation are less certain. In this meta-analysis of individual-patient data from 10 randomized control trials comparing beta-blockers to placebo for systolic heart failure, investigators assessed the impact of […]
Tag: atrial fibrilation
Cryptogenic stroke due to undetected atrial fibrillation – longer ECG monitoring may be the key
Up to 40% of ischemic strokes remain unexplained after routine evaluation and thus are considered cryptogenic. However, a number of these strokes may be due to an undetected episode of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) where anticoagulation can reduce the risk of subsequent ischemic stokes. Although a minimum of 24 hours of ECG monitoring is guideline […]
Subclinical AF significantly increases stroke risk
Approximately 25% of all strokes are of unknown cause, and it has long been hypothesised that short subclinical episodes of atrial fibrillation (AF) may be an important common etiologic factor. While several studies have attempted to detect episodes of subclinical AF, most have been hampered by the infrequency of such episodes and the unlikelihood of […]