Virtual drug quiets noise in heart tissue images

Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have developed a new computational approach to removing movement in images of expanding and contracting heart cells and tissues. By computationally removing movement, the algorithm mimics a drug’s action in stopping the heart, without compromising cellular structure or tissue contractility.

How COVID-19 Can Impact the Heart

ROCKVILLE, MD – COVID-19 infections can cause potentially life-threatening heart issues. Studies suggest that people with COVID-19 are 55% more likely to suffer a major adverse cardiovascular event, including heart attack, stroke and death, than those without COVID-19. They’re also more likely to have other heart issues, like arrhythmias (abnormal heart rhythms) and myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle).

Simulations Show Weak Electrical Pulses Could Treat Atrial and Ventricular Fibrillations

With numerical simulations, researchers have demonstrated a new way to time weak electrical pulses that can stop certain life-threatening arrhythmias. Publishing their work in Chaos, the group shows that timed pulses are successful in ending atrial and ventricular fibrillations. The study provides early evidence that one theorized approach to controlling fibrillations – adaptive deceleration pacing – can improve the performance of defibrillators.

Stroke, Clot Risk Halved in Heart Disease and Arrhythmia Patients Who Took Blood Thinners Apixaban Versus Rivaroxaban

The new study showed apixaban is superior to rivaroxaban against stroke or systemic embolism in patients with atrial fibrillation and valvular heart disease

Deadly arrhythmia trifecta: Salt, swelling, and leaky sodium channels

Cardiovascular researchers at Virginia Tech’s Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC have published a new study describing how deadly arrhythmias arise from elevated sodium levels, heart tissue irritation and swelling, and sodium channel abnormalities associated with Long QT syndrome. The scientists were the first to examine the impacts of heart tissue swelling and blood chemistry in relation to the syndrome.

High Caffeine Consumption Disrupts Heart Rhythms in Middle-aged Rats

New research finds that excess caffeine is more likely to cause irregular heart rhythms in middle aged rats than in young adult rats. The study will be presented this week at the American Physiological Society annual meeting at Experimental Biology 2022 in Philadelphia.

Heart rhythm disorders: Mayo Clinic Healthcare expert shares 5 things it’s important to know

World Heart Day is Sept. 29 – Heart rhythm disorders are one of the most common cardiac problems. Arrhythmias cause the heart to beat too fast, too slow, or irregularly. People can be born with them or develop them during their lives.

20-year Mayo Clinic study suggests return to play is manageable for athletes with most genetic heart diseases

Receiving the diagnosis of a genetic heart disease such as long QT syndrome, which can cause sudden cardiac death, has long been a game-ender for young athletes. But a 20-year study at Mayo Clinic following such athletes who were allowed to return to play suggests that the risks can be managed through a shared decision-making process. The retrospective study findings will be presented at the annual meeting of the Heart Rhythm Society on Tuesday, July 27, and simultaneously published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Electric Signals Between Individual Cardiac Cells Regulate Heartbeat

In Biophysics Reviews, researchers provide an update on how electrical impulses in the heart travel from cell to cell. The connections between cells forming the low resistance pathway and facilitating the current flow are called gap junctions. Each consists of many channels, which are formed when specific proteins from one cell dock and fuse to the proteins from another cell. The scientists delve into the properties of gap junctions and their constituent proteins.

Morristown Medical Center’s Dr. Stephen Winters Discusses What Everyone Should Know About Atrial Fibrillation

September is National Atrial Fibrillation Month, and Stephen L. Winters, MD, director of the Cardiac Rhythm Management Program, Gagnon Cardiovascular Institute, Atlantic Health System’s Morristown Medical Center, wants the public to know some surprising facts about this increasingly common heart condition.

Study Shows Hydroxychloroquine’s Harmful Effects on Heart Rhythm

The malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, which has been promoted as a potential treatment for Covid-19, is known to have potentially serious effects on heart rhythms. Now, a team of researchers has used an optical mapping system to observe exactly how the drug creates serious disturbances in the electrical signals that govern heartbeat.

UCI researchers reveal how low oxygen levels in the heart predispose people to life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias

Low oxygen levels in the heart have long been known to produce life-threatening arrhythmias, even sudden death. Until now, it was not clear how.

New findings, in a study led by Steve A. N. Goldstein, MD, PhD, vice chancellor for Health Affairs at the University of California, Irvine, and distinguished professor in the UCI School of Medicine Departments of Pediatrics and Physiology & Biophysics, reveal the underlying mechanism for this dangerous heart disorder.

Scientists trace the molecular roots of potentially fatal heart condition

At a glance:

Research using heart cells from squirrels, mice and people identifies an evolutionary mechanism critical for heart muscle function

Gene defect that affects a protein found in the heart muscle interferes with this mechanism to cause hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a potentially fatal heart condition

Imbalance in the ratio of active and inactive protein disrupts heart muscle’s ability to contract and relax normally, interferes with heart muscle’s energy consumption

Treatment with a small-molecule drug restores proper contraction, energy consumption in human and rodent heart cells

If affirmed in subsequent studies, the results can inform therapies that could halt disease progression, help prevent common complications, including arrhythmias and heart failure