Study Shows Women with Atrial Fibrillation (AF) Have Catheter Ablations Later Than Men, And Have Worse Results

Study Shows Women with Atrial Fibrillation (AF) Have Catheter Ablations Later Than Men, And Have Worse Results

New research from Dr. Andrea Natale and colleagues on gender disparities in atrial fibrillation points out that women with afib are less likely to have catheter ablation treatment than men. When they do have atrial fibrillation catheter ablations, they tend to be older and sicker, meaning that they are more likely to have persistent or long-standing persistent atrial fibrillation instead of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. In addition, they tend to have had more failed antiarrhythmic drugs and end up having more complications from catheter ablation than men.
Read more: Women with Atrial Fibrillation Less Likely To Get Catheter Ablation Than Men — And Have More Complications

Want to know Your Risk For Heart Attack & Stroke? Take The Risk Assessment Test

To assess your risk of heart disease or stroke, and learn how you can improve your odds just use the link below!
https://www.americanheart.org/gglRisk/locale/en_US/

Heart Attack - Coronary Heart Disease - Metabolic Syndrome Risk Assessment

Learn YOUR Risk! Do you know how these controllable risk factors affect your risk of heart disease, stroke and metabolic syndrome?
smoking
high blood pressure
high blood cholesterol
diabetes
being overweight or obese
physical inactivity
It’s essential that you measure your risk of heart disease and make a plan for how to prevent it in the near future.

Use this tool to help you assess your risk of having a heart attack or dying from coronary heart disease in the next 10 years. It will also check to see if you may have metabolic syndrome, a group of risk factors that greatly increase your chances of developing cardiovascular disease, including stroke and diabetes.

This Risk Assessment can be use by people age 20 or older who do not already have heart disease or diabetes.

After you have finished using the tool, you can upload your results into your personal Google HealthTM account or you can print a copy of your risk assessment results, risk factor summary report, metabolic syndrome assessment and action plans for those areas you need to work on in order to reduce your risk.

Smoking Increases Your Risk for Stroke

Smoking increases your chance of stroke 2 1/2 times more than none smokers:
How Can You Quit?
Smokers have more help than ever before to help
them quit successfully. Talk with your doctor
about the best way for you to quit smoking. It is
common for people to use a combination of the
following: medication, replacing unhealthy habits
with healthy habits, and emotional support. The
following sections describe these tools and how
they may be helpful for you. Remember: The urge to
smoke a cigarette will pass in three short
minutes.
20 minutes after quitting Your blood pressure drops to the level it was before the last cigarette
8 hours after quitting The carbon monoxide in your blood drops to normal.
24 hours after quitting Your chance of a heart attack decreases.
2 weeks to 3 months
after quitting Your circulation improves and your lung function increases.
1 to 9 months Your lungs regain normal function to clean the lungs and to reduce
after quitting infection.
1 year after quitting Your risk of heart disease is cut in half.
5-15 years after quitting Your stroke risk is reduced to that of a non-smoker.
10 years after quitting Your risk of lung cancer is about one-half that of a smoker. Your risk for
cancers of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, kidney, and pancreas
decreases.
15 years after quitting Your risk of heart disease is that of a non-smoker.

Reduce your chances of a second stroke by 65 percent by getting your cholesterol and blood pressure to optimal levels (HDL cholesterol over 50; LDL cholesterol under 70; triglycerides under 150; blood pressure less than 120/80), says a 2009 study.

Don't Forget About Stroke During American Heart Month

By: Dr. Fredrick Phillips
HealthNewsDigest.com
Augusta, GA — Cardiovascular disease is just a fancy way to say heart disease, right? Wrong. The term cardiovascular disease actually describes diseases and conditions that affect not just your heart but also your blood vessels. During American Heart Month, it’s important that the public increases their awareness both of heart attack as well as other cardiovascular diseases like stroke.
Stroke is the third leading cause of death and a leading cause of disability in the U.S. Risk factors for stroke include:
Age: Those older than 55 have an increased risk of stroke.
Family history: If a parent, grandparent or sibling has had a stroke, you too are at higher risk.
Race: African-Americans are at higher risk of stroke than Caucasians and other races.
Gender: While men typically suffer more strokes, women are more likely to die from strokes, due to complications related to use of birth control and pregnancy.
Prior stroke, TIA or heart attack: If you have already had a stroke, a transient ischemic attack (which is a mini-stroke that causes symptoms but no lasting damage) or a heart attack, your risk of a secondary stroke is increased.
If you suffer or suspect a loved one has suffered a stroke, time is of the essence. There is only a three-hour window from the onset of stroke symptoms for patients to be treated by tPA, the clot-busting drug that is recommended for most ischemic strokes. After initial treatment and stabilization in an acute-care hospital, most stroke survivors will also benefit from treatment in a rehabilitation setting. Physical, occupational and speech therapy, especially if started as soon as possible after the stroke, can help stroke survivors recover mobility, fine motor skills, swallowing and language skills more quickly.
The great thing is that the same steps you take to help prevent heart disease will also help reduce your risk of stroke. These include simple steps like:
Exercising
Eating better and losing weight
Quitting smoking
Controlling cholesterol
Managing blood sugar
Lowering blood pressure
If you are at risk of heart attack or stroke, talk to your doctor today about how he or she can help you reduce your risk. And if you are a stroke survivor continuing to experience stroke aftereffects, talk to your doctor too. There may be therapies available to help you improve your mobility and regain more independence.

Nothing Tricky

Please view this video! It can save a life. Hands only CPR

Hands only CPR

Hands only CPR has been rolled out by American Heart Association for by standers: Main thing to remember- if you see someone collapse call 911 and and start heart compressions. You can save a life.