{"id":11920,"date":"2016-10-18T08:00:21","date_gmt":"2016-10-18T13:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/?p=11920"},"modified":"2016-10-18T03:03:22","modified_gmt":"2016-10-18T08:03:22","slug":"short-episodes-of-abnormal-heart-rhythm-may-not-increase-risk-of-stroke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/2016\/10\/18\/short-episodes-of-abnormal-heart-rhythm-may-not-increase-risk-of-stroke\/","title":{"rendered":"Short episodes of Abnormal Heart Rhythm may not increase Risk of Stroke"},"content":{"rendered":"

American Heart Association Rapid Access Journal Report<\/h2>\n

\"AmericanDallas, TX<\/strong> – People with pacemakers or defibrillators who experience only short episodes of an abnormal heart rhythm known as atrial fibrillation<\/a> have a very low risk of stroke, suggesting that anticoagulants in this group of patients were not likely to reduce the risk for stroke, according to new research in the American Heart Association\u2019s journal Circulation.<\/em><\/p>\n

Atrial fibrillation is the most common abnormal heart rhythm, affecting approximately 2.7 million Americans.<\/p>\n

\"People<\/a>

People with pacemakers or defibrillators who experience short episodes an abnormal heart rhythm called atrial fibrillation have no higher risk for stroke or other medical complications than people without documented atrial fibrillation. (American Heart Association)<\/p><\/div>\n

Previous research demonstrates that people with prolonged episodes of atrial fibrillation are at an increased risk for cardiovascular complications, including stroke.<\/p>\n

As a result, guidelines recommend that patients with atrial fibrillation take anticoagulants<\/a>, blood thinners that decrease the ability of the blood to clot, to reduce their stroke risk.<\/p>\n

However, it has been unclear whether \u201cshort\u201d episodes (estimated as less than 20 seconds) also increase medical risks and warrant anticoagulants.<\/p>\n

Researchers analyzed 37,000 individual ECGs from 5,379 patients over 2 years enrolled in the RATE Registry, an ongoing study following patients with pacemakers or defibrillators that constantly monitor their heart rhythm. The study confirmed that long episodes of atrial fibrillation are associated with increased risk of stroke, heart failure, ER visit or hospitalization for an abnormal heart rhythm, or death.<\/p>\n

In contrast, during the course of two years, patients experiencing only \u201cshort\u201d episodes of atrial fibrillation were at no more risk of stroke or other cardiovascular complications than people without documented atrial fibrillation.<\/p>\n

Over the two years of the study, researchers found:<\/strong><\/p>\n