Fighting fires comes with many risks. But new research shows there’s a new one to consider: increased exposure to fires appears to raise the likelihood of developing atrial fibrillation, or AFib, an irregular heartbeat that can lead to blood clots, stroke, heart failure and other problems. Researchers found the more fires a firefighter fought, the […]
Home »
What’s at the ‘heart’ of a heartbeat?
In the confines of the thoracic chamber, a heart has lost its rhythm. Its two upper chambers, the atria, are beating out of sync with the two lower chambers, the ventricles. The resulting chaos is called atrial fibrillation and is a major concern because it prevents the heart from pumping effectively and is associated with […]
Scientists catch heartbeat ‘molecular switch’ in action
Oxford University Radcliffe Department of Medicine researchers have developed a new method that uses a protein originally found in marine corals to visualise the flow of calcium that makes the heart beat. In a paper published in the journal Circulation Research, they used this technique to uncover the effects of genetic errors that contribute to […]
Migraines that affect vision may increase risk of irregular heartbeat
People who experience migraine with visual aura may have an increased risk of an irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation, according to a study published in the November 14, 2018, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Migraine with visual aura is when disturbances in vision occur right before head […]