Scientists shed new light on how heart works (Australia)

Doctors at the Victor Chang Institute have uncovered new information about the rhythm of the heart and why some drugs might affect that rhythm. Half of all new drugs being developed block one of the channels of the heart and can cause cardiac arrhythmia, which can lead to sudden cardiac death. Professor Jamie Vandenberg, head of the Cardiac Electrophysiology Laboratory at the Victor Chang Institute, says doctors have now found the mechanism which opens the gate to these channels. "Just like a set of metal wires that carry electricity to light up our streets, our body has a series of channels that carry tiny charged particles called ions, into and out of cells, to trigger a heartbeat," he said. "Depending on the position of these gates, many common drugs attach themselves to these channels, blocking the ions from passing through. "This causes what we call Long QT syndrome, where the length of the heart beat is longer than usual, which greatly increases the risk of arrhythmia." Professor Vandenberg believes the "gate mechanism" will also apply to other channels important in the heart's electrical system, as well as those that control electrical communication in the brain.

ArrhythmiA Awareness Week (UK)

ArrhythmiA Awareness Week - 8-14 June 2009 - raising awareness of arrhythmias and sudden death in your respective area

Anger management: The key to staying heart healthy?

New research published in the March 3, 2009, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology finds that anger-induced electrical changes in the heart can predict future arrhythmias in patients with implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs). - Physorg.com

Transoma gets FDA approval for cardiac device

"Transoma Medical Inc. has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for its Sleuth AT implantable cardiac-monitoring system, the follow-up to its original Sleuth product that launched in 2007. The Sleuth products help physicians diagnose patients with recurrent, unexplained fainting and abnormal heart rhythms more quickly, while also minimizing paperwork and practice workload, Transoma said in a press release Wednesday. Sleuth AT allows physicians to use the program with electrocardiogram (ECG) data to help monitor the efficacy of prescribed therapies. The products can be used to detect cardiac arrhythmias such as atrial fibrillation, ventricular tachycardia, bradycardia and supraventricular tachycardia. Atrial fibrillation is the most common arrhythmia, affecting approximately 2.2 million Americans." - American City Business Journals,

Red Bull link over club death

"A clubber could have died because she drank too many cans of Red Bull, an inquest heard. Chloe Leach collapsed at a Hull nightclub after drinking several cans of the caffeine drink last September. A coroner heard how Miss Leach, who was studying at the University of Lincoln's Hull campus, died from cardiac arrhythmia which affects the heart's rhythm. But neuro-pathologist Ian Scott said it was less clear what caused this arrhythmia in the young woman, who was an epileptic. Dr Scott told the inquest in Hull how the most likely cause was a condition called Long QT Syndrome, which affects the organ's electric pulse. He said tests Miss Leach had taken after her mother suffered a heart attack showed her heart was at the 'upper limit of normal'. The pathologist said the high levels of caffeine she ingested when she drank at least four cans of Red Bull could her pushed her heart over this threshold into abnormal. The doctor said it was also possible Miss Leach's heart could have deteriorated in the five years since she was tested" - The Sun

Scientists discover molecular mechanism behind irregular heartbeats

"German researchers have uncovered the molecular mechanism whereby virus infections cause cardiac arrhythmia. Experts at the Max Delbruck Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch say that they have discovered that the receptor that the virus uses to infect heart cells is normally necessary for regular heartbeat in mice"

New mechanism for cardiac arrhythmia discovered

"It has long been thought that virus infections can cause cardiac arrhythmia. But why has not been understood. Ulrike Lisewski, Dr. Yu Shi, Michael Radke and Professor Michael Gotthardt of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch, Germany, have now discovered the molecular mechanism. The researchers demonstrated that the receptor which the virus uses to infect heart cells is normally necessary for regular heart beat in mice..." - PhysOrg.com