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Data from a post-hoc analysis presented today at the 59th Annual Scientific Session of the American College of Cardiology in Atlanta, Georgia, evaluated transition to Multaq® (dronedarone) in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) or atrial flutter (AFL) following prior treatment with amiodarone.

The UK Department of Health’s strategy for stroke care has increased the priority and awareness of the condition and started to improve patients’ care and outcomes, concludes a report by the National Audit Office(1). Actions taken since 2006 have improved the value for money of stroke care; but improvements have not been universal and improvements in follow-up care have not matched those of acute care services.

Urgent coordinated action is needed to avoid the thousands of preventable strokes that leave many atrial fibrillation (AF) patients mentally and physically disabled or dead, every year. A report, How Can We Avoid a Stroke Crisis?, recently launched in the European Parliament by Action for Stroke Prevention, a group of health experts from across Europe, proposes measures to tackle stroke in patients with AF, the most common, sustained abnormal heart rhythm and a major cause of stroke(1).

BMI and waist circumference explain one half of all fatal and one quarter of all non-fatal cardiovascular disease in those overweight and obese according to a recent ten-year follow-up study.

Sanofi-aventis has announced today that the European Commission has granted marketing authorization for Multaq® (dronedarone – 400mg Tablets) in all 27 European member states. The compound will be the first antiarrhythmic drug to be approved in the EU in the last ten years. This approval follows the European Commission positive opinion issued on September 25, 2009 by the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicine agency (EMEA).

The RealiseAF registry will help to better define and understand the cardiovascular risk profile of AF patients and characterize their cardiovascular outcomes.

The consumption of fish has no major role in the prevention of heart failure, according to results from a large prospective population study.(1) The study, which was started in 1990 and involved all men and women over the age of 55 living in a suburb of Rotterdam, found no difference in the risk of developing heart failure between those who did eat fish and those who didn’t.

Over one thousand delegates attended the Heart Rhythm Congress (HRC) 2009, held recently in Birmingham. Reflecting the increasing interest in the fast moving field of pacing, devices and all aspects of heart rhythm control, the congress caters for leading cardiac electrophysiology clinicians, cardiology trainees, supporting health professionals and also included presentations and a special exhibition for patient groups.

A new definition of syncope – was discussed at the European Society of Cardiology meeting in Barcelona. The new definition– makes the diagnosis more precise and now dependent on a specific cause. Restrictions on driving are not recommended for drivers with mild reflex syncope.

Up to 1 in 4 patients thought to be suffering from epilepsy do not actually have this condition. Now an implantable ECG monitor allows detection of abnormal heart rate causing syncope, according to a presentation during the European Society of Cardiology recent congress in Barcelona.