EAST-STROKE Videointerview

Prof. Dr. med. Götz Thomalla (UKE) and Dr. med. Märit Jensen (UKE) have recorded a video on the new EAST-STROKE trial in layman’s terms.

The EAST-STROKE (‘Early treatment of Atrial fibrillation for Stroke prevention Trial in acute STROKE’) trial is led by scientist from the University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE) and investigates whether early rhythm-control treatment can effectively and safely prevent strokes. The project is funded by the EU as part of ‘Horizon Europe’. AFNET is partner for dissemination and exploitation.

ESC Congress 2024

AFNET associated events:

 

30th of August 2024, 10:27 am (CEST/German time) / 9:27 am (BST/British time): “Prague”, Adjunct pharmacology in PCI: beyond antiplatelet therapy, the next chapter – discussion (Renate Schnabel)

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Do patients with device-detected atrial fibrillation and prior stroke benefit from anticoagulation?

A subgroup analysis of the NOAH – AFNET 6 trial revealed: In patients with device-detected atrial fibrillation and a prior stroke, oral anticoagulation increases bleeding without a clear reduction in stroke. This finding was presented by Prof. Paulus Kirchhof, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), Hamburg, Germany, in a late-breaking clinical trials session at the annual congress of the American Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) in Boston, USA, on 19.05.2024 (1).

Device-detected atrial fibrillation (DDAF) are short and typically rare episodes of atrial fibrillation (AF) detected by pacemakers, defibrillators, and implanted loop recorders capable of continuous rhythm monitoring. Device-detected atrial fibrillation is found in every fifth patient with a cardiac implanted electronic device (2). Device-detected atrial fibrillation can lead to stroke, but the stroke risk in patients with device-detected atrial fibrillation appears lower than the stroke risk in patients with ECG-documented atrial fibrillation (1%/year).

Anticoagulation effectively prevents stroke in patients with ECG-documented AF. It is particularly effective in patients with AF and a prior stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) who are at high risk of recurrent stroke. In patients with a prior stroke without ECG-documented AF, oral anticoagulants mainly increase bleeding with only a weak effect on ischemic stroke.

Heart Rhythm Congress 2024

16th of May 2024, 7:00 pm (CEST/German time) / 1:00 pm (EASTERN/Boston time): “160 – BCEC “, Cost Benefit Analysis: Where Does Remote Monitoring Land? (Thorsten Lewalter)

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17th of May 2024, 10:30 am (CEST/German time) / 4:30 pm (EASTERN/Boston time): “PO-01-190”, The Role Meta-analysis of RNAseq Data from Two Large Atrial Tissue Banks Identifies More than 8000 Transcripts Associated with AF and Suggests a Prominent Role for Mitochondrial Processes and Energy Metabolism: the CATCH ME and RACE V Consortia (various speakers)

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Circulating biomolecules identify patients with atrial fibrillation at high risk of cardiovascular events

An analysis of the biomolecule substudy of the EAST – AFNET 4 trial revealed: biomolecule concentrations in the blood of patients with atrial fibrillation can be used to identify patients at high and low cardiovascular risk. Today the findings were presented by Prof. Larissa Fabritz, University Medical Center Hamburg Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany, at the Frontiers in CardioVascular Biomedicine Congress in Amsterdam and published in Cardiovascular Research (1).

Atrial Fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia in elderly people. AF often occurs in patients with cardiovascular comorbidities with shared disease mechanisms. Little is known about the disease processes leading to AF-related complications and their interactions in patients with AF.

Patients with device-detected atrial fibrillation and multiple comorbidities do not benefit from anticoagulation

In patients with device-detected atrial fibrillation and a high comorbidity burden, oral anticoagulation increases bleeding without a clear reduction in stroke. This is the main finding of a sub-analysis of the NOAH – AFNET 6 trial presented by Dr Julius Nikorowitsch, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), Hamburg, Germany, in a late-breaking science session at the annual congress of the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA) in Berlin, Germany, today and simultaneously published in the European Heart Journal (1).

Device-detected atrial fibrillation (DDAF) are short and typically rare episodes of atrial fibrillation (AF) detected by pacemakers, defibrillators, and implanted loop recorders capable of continuous rhythm monitoring. Device-detected atrial fibrillation is found in every fifth patient with a cardiac implanted electronic device (2). Device-detected atrial fibrillation can lead to stroke, but the stroke risk in patients with device-detected atrial fibrillation appears lower than the stroke risk in patients with ECG-documented atrial fibrillation.

Longer and better lives for patients with atrial fibrillation – AFNET/EHRA expert panel published a position paper

An international panel of experts published recommendations to improve management of atrial fibrillation (AF). The position pAn international panel of experts published recommendations to improve management of atrial fibrillation (AF). The position paper summarizes the results of the 9th AFNET/EHRA consensus conference – a two-day expert meeting which was jointly organized by the German Atrial Fibrillation Network (AFNET) and the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA) in Münster, Germany, in September 2023. Today the consensus report was presented at the EHRA congress in Berlin by Prof. Dominik Linz, Maastricht, The Netherlands, and simultaneously published in Europace (1).

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia and a growing health problem in an aging society. It affects several million people in Europe and worldwide.

Four researchers receive DGK AFNET Young Investigator Award for atrial fibrillation

At the annual meeting of the German Society of Cardiology (DGK), four scientists will be honoured with the new DGK AFNET Young Investigator Award, sponsored by the Atrial Fibrillation Competence Network (AFNET), for current research work on atrial fibrillation. The presentations of the award winners and the award ceremony will take place on Friday 05.04.2024 in Mannheim.

‘This new prize has been established to mark the 20th anniversary of AFNET. It is intended to recognise outstanding results by young researchers working on atrial fibrillation. With this prize, AFNET wants to encourage the next generation to focus on better understanding, more accurate diagnosis and more successful treatment of atrial fibrillation,’ says Paulus Kirchhof, Chairman of the Board of AFNET.