BACKGROUND Dronedarone has been developed for treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF) or atrial flutter (AFL). It is an amiodarone analogue but noniodinized and without the same adverse effects as amiodarone. OBJECTIVE AND METHODS This is a review of 7 studies (DAFNE, ADONIS, EURIDIS, ATHENA, ANDROMEDA, ERATO and DIONYSOS) on dronedarone focusing on efficacy, safety and prevention of stroke. Th...

The aim of this retrospective study (February 2012-September 2014) was to assess the role of head-up tilt-table test in patients with unexplained syncope. It was performed on 235 patients at Clinical Department of Cardiology, Sestre milosrdnice University Hospital Center. Patients were classified according to test indications: group A (convulsive syncope, n = 30), group B (suspected vasovagal s...

Rohrer, Daniel K., Eric H. Schauble, Kavin H. Desai, Brian K. Kobilka, and Daniel Bernstein. Alterations in dynamic heart rate control in the b1-adrenergic receptor knockout mouse. Am. J. Physiol. 274 (Heart Circ. Physiol. 43): H1184–H1193, 1998.—b1-Adrenergic receptors (b1-ARs) are key targets of sympathetic nervous system activity and play a major role in the beat-to-beat regulation of cardia...

BACKGROUND A few studies have suggested an association between prenatal exposure to methylmercury and decreased heart rate variability (HRV) related to autonomic heart function, but no study has examined this association using baroreflex sensitivity (BRS). In this study we assessed the distribution of BRS and immediate orthostatic hypotension (IOH) in young Seychellois adults and their associat...

The mitral valve, once considered an inert structure with a mechanical response to the demands of intracardiac flow, has been the aim of research that may reveal different functions from those we are used to assign. The action of substances with autocrine or paracrine effect may be co-responsible for constant adjustments in their morphology and function. The use of techniques of biology and mol...

Bugenhagen SM, Cowley AW Jr, Beard DA. Identifying physiological origins of baroreflex dysfunction in salt-sensitive hypertension in the Dahl SS rat. Physiol Genomics 42: 23–41, 2010. First published March 30, 2010; doi:10.1152/physiolgenomics.00027.2010.—Salt-sensitive hypertension is known to be associated with dysfunction of the baroreflex control system in the Dahl salt-sensitive (SS) rat. ...

BACKGROUND During recent years, systematic reviews of observational studies have compared digoxin to no digoxin in patients with atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter, and the results of these reviews suggested that digoxin seems to increase the risk of all-cause mortality regardless of concomitant heart failure. Our objective was to assess the benefits and harms of digoxin for atrial fibrillat...

BACKGROUND The need for new treatment strategies for cardiac arrhythmias has motivated our continuing development of gene therapeutic options. Previously, we reported a decreased heart rate in an acute model of atrial fibrillation after atrioventricular nodal gene transfer. Here, we expand those observations to persistent atrial fibrillation and severe heart failure. METHODS AND RESULTS After...

BACKGROUND Due to graft denervation, sinus tachycardia is a common problem after heart transplantation, underlining the importance of heart rate control without peripheral effects. However, long-term data regarding the effects of ivabradine, a novel If channel antagonist, are limited in patients after heart transplantation. METHODS In this follow-up analysis, the resting heart rate, left vent...

Atrial fibrillation is the most common cardiac arrhythmia (1, 2) and is associated with an increased risk of death (3). In addition to the hemodynamic consequences such as loss of atrial contraction and loss of the chronotropic response to increased circulatory demands, atrial fibrillation causes important morbidity and mortality due to thromboembolic events, mainly stroke and myocardial infarc...