RNS story: Calm the heart to stop a stroke, May 2008
TIME: 2:27
URL: http://www2.med.umich.edu/prmc/media/newsroom/details.cfm?ID=215
Calm the heart to stop a stroke?
New treatments for irregular heartbeat may reduce the chance of stroke for millions
Suggested lead:
Every year, three quarters of a million Americans suffer a stroke, a deadly or disabling brain emergency. But one out of every five of these strokes actually starts in the heart, when an irregular heart rhythm causes clots to form.
Fortunately, new treatments are available to prevent this. Kara Gavin has more:
There’s an electrical storm brewing inside the hearts of more than 2.2 million Americans. And just like lightning, this kind of storm can have devastating consequences.
The “storm”, in this case, is a condition called atrial fibrillation – the most common form of irregular heartbeat in the United States. Dr. Eric Good, a heart rhythm specialist at the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center, explains:
Atrial fibrillation is a chaotic, electrical rhythm which emanates from the top chambers of the heart called the atrium. It involves an electrical storm, if you will, in which impulses whirl about the top chambers and send signals to the bottom chamber very rapidly, sometimes fast as 400 to 600 beats per minute.
And when blood pools in a heart that’s not beating regularly, dangerous blood clots can form, and travel to the brain. And then, quick as lightning, those clots can cause a stroke or mini-stroke that can kill or disable a person within minutes. People with atrial fibrillation have a stroke risk that’s up to six times higher than the risk for other people their age.
In fact, one out of every five strokes in the U.S. every year actually starts in the heart. That’s more than 150,000 people.
Fortunately, doctors now have a broad range of new ways — and tried-and-true ways — to treat atrial fibrillation and prevent blood from pooling in the heart.
Medicines can prevent clots and calm a racing heart in many patients. But new treatments available at the University of Michigan and other top hospitals are also showing promise. Dr. Good explains:
Another treatment for atrial fibrillation for patients that’s becoming more and more popular is a left atrial ablation procedure. In this procedure, catheters are inserted through the veins in the groin and advanced into the heart to the left atrium. In the left atrium various catheters can be used to zap the electrical rhythms that lead to the atrial fibrillation and restore a normal, regular heart rhythm.
New experimental devices are also being tested at U-M, and may offer more hope in the future. In the end, Dr. Good says:
The bottom line for patients who have atrial fibrillation and may be at risk of stroke is to be evaluated by their healthcare professional. They can assess the risk and offer a whole variety of treatment options that could reduce the risk of having a stroke.
Kara Gavin, U-M Health System News
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