So, you've had an episode of atrial fibrillation that is now resolved. What next? The findings of a UK study published earlier this month in the BMJ that involved nearly 50,000 patients in general practices found that patients with resolved atrial fibrillation remain at higher risk of stroke or transient ischaemic attack (TIA) than patients without atrial fibrillation (1). The researchers concluded that: Guidelines should be updated to advocate continued use of anticoagulants in pat...

We are running out of excuses not to exercise. Build exercise into your lifestyle or suffer the consequences...  Exercise prescription is gaining significant importance in clinical practice, as more and more research provides compelling evidence to support the role of exercise in disease prevention and chronic illness management. Exercise may stimulate the growth of more new heart muscle cells, even after having a heart attack. Researchers from the Harvard Department of Stem Cell...

The American Heart Association claims that hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is relatively common occurring in 1 out of every 500 people, and is the leading cause of sudden cardiac arrest in young people (less than 30 years of age), including young athletes, in the United States (US). This has stimulated calls for the routine HCM screening of athletes. While the adverse consequences of HCM (i.e.the risk of sudden death) have been emphasised in the literature, more balanced perspectives on H...