Cardionerds - A Cardiology Podcast:

Atrial Fibrillation Page

Cardionerds - A Cardiology Podcast:

Welcome to the CardioNerds Atrial Fibrillation Series Page! 

This CardioNerds Atrial Fibrillation series is a multi-institutional collaboration made possible by contributions of stellar fellow leads and expert faculty from several programs, led by series co-chairs, Dr. Kelly Arps and Dr. Colin Blumenthal.

This series is supported by an educational grant from the Bristol Myers Squibb and Pfizer Alliance. All CardioNerds content is planned, produced, and reviewed solely by CardioNerds

Episodes

CardioNerds (Amit Goyal), Dr. Colin Blumenthal (CardioNerds Academy House Faculty Leader and FIT at the University of Pennsylvania), and Dr. Anjali Wagle (CardioNerds Ambassador and FIT at Johns Hopkins University), discuss the baseline assessment of stroke and bleeding risk in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) with Dr. Elaine Hylek. Dr. Hylek is a professor of medicine at the Boston University School of Medicine and is the Director of the Thrombosis and Anticoagulation Service at Boston Medical Center. Stroke is a potentially devastating and preventable complication of AF. Understanding the balance between stroke and bleeding risk is crucial in determining who should be on anticoagulation. Join us to discuss this topic! In the next episode of the series, we will discuss situational risk assessment in the context of peri-cardioversion, peri-procedural status, triggered atrial fibrillation, and more. Audio editing by CardioNerds Academy InternPace Wetstein.

CardioNerds (Dr. Kelly ArpsDr. Colin BlumenthalDr. Dan Ambinder, and Dr. Teodora Donisan) discuss the screening, detection, and diagnosis of atrial fibrillation (AF) with Dr. Ben Freedman. AF is frequently undiagnosed and its first manifestation can be a debilitating stroke. European and American guidelines differ slightly with regards to guidelines for AF screening in asymptomatic individuals. There are multiple methods available to screen for AF; the setting and the clinical scenario can help guide the choice. Consumer-led screening has its own challenges, as it can detect AF in a younger population where we should prioritize aggressive management of risk factors and comorbidities. There is uncertainty regarding the minimum AF burden that increases thromboembolic risk, however a high CHAD2S2-VASc score remains the strongest predictor of stroke risk independent of AF burden. Perioperative AF associated with non-cardiac surgery has increased risk of future stroke and adverse cardiac outcomes and should likely be treated as a new diagnosis of chronic AF.   

Atrial fibrillation may reach pandemic proportions in the next 2-3 decades. Factors that drive this phenomenon have been studied in predominantly White populations, leading to a significant underrepresentation of certain racial/ethnic groups in atrial fibrillation epidemiological studies. Most atrial fibrillation epidemiology studies suggest that the non-Hispanic Black population has a lower incidence/prevalence of atrial fibrillation, despite a higher risk factor burden (“Afib paradox”). At the same time, non-Hispanic Blacks have worse outcomes compared to the White population and underrepresented populations and women are less likely than White men to receive optimal guideline-based therapies for atrial fibrillation.

In this episode, CardioNerds Dr. Kelly Arps (Co-Chair Atrial Fibrillation series, Cardiology fellow at Duke University), Dr. Colin Blumenthal (Co-Chair Atrial Fibrillation series, CardioNerds Academy House Faculty Leader for House Jones, Cardiology fellow at the University of Pennsylvania), and Dr. Dinu-Valentin Balanescu (CardioNerds Academy Faculty for House Jones, rising internal medicine chief resident at Beaumont Hospital), discuss with Dr. Larry Jackson (cardiac electrophysiologist and Vice Chief of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Division of Cardiology at Duke University) about atrial fibrillation epidemiology and health equity, challenges and possible solutions to improving diversity in clinical trials, and race/ethnicity/sex/gender differences in the detection, management, and outcomes of atrial fibrillation.

CardioNerds Electrophysiology (EP) Collection

Cardiac Critical Care Disease Series Co-Chairs!

Dr. Kelly Arps

Dr. Kelly Arps

Duke University

Dr. Kelly Arps completed medical school at Emory University and residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital, where she served as editor-in-chief for the 2018 Osler Medicine Survival Guide. She is currently is a clinical cardiology fellow at Duke University and served on the 2019-2020 ACC FIT website editorial board in the education section. Kelly is planning to pursue a career in cardiac electrophysiology with a focus on ventricular arrhythmias in heart failure and infiltrative cardiomyopathies.

Colin Blumenthal, MD - CardioNerds

Dr. Colin Blumenthal

University of Pennsylvania

Dr. Colin Blumenthal is a general cardiology fellow at the University of Pennsylvania. He completed his residency at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. He went to The Ohio State University and got a BS and MS in Electrical and Computer Engineering before going to medical school at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland Ohio. After residency, Colin will be moving to Philadelphia to start as a cardiology fellow at the University of Pennsylvania and hopes to pursue a career in Electrophysiology. In his free time, Colin spends most of his time with his wife, young son, and their dog. He loves ice cream and enjoys nature and wildlife photography.