Top in cardiology: Sociopolitical stress, hybrid ablation

Researchers said a spike in cardiovascular events after the 2016 presidential election was possibly caused by sociopolitical stress. It was the top story in cardiology last week.

Another top story was about a study that showed a hybrid ablation procedure for atrial fibrillation (AF) may reduce the risk for recurrent AF and AF burden.

Read these and more top stories in cardiology below:

CV events spiked after 2016 presidential election, perhaps due to sociopolitical stress

Acute CVD events in a Southern California cohort were 1.62 times higher in the 2 days after the 2016 U.S. presidential election compared with the same 2 days the week before the election, researchers reported. Read more.

Hybrid ablation procedure may lower AF recurrence, burden

“Cryoconvergent” hybrid ablation for AF may significantly reduce risk for recurrent AF and AF burden in patients with persistent AF or long-standing persistent AF, researchers reported. Read more.

Catheter ablation could reduce dementia risk in AF vs. medical therapy

Patients with AF who underwent catheter ablation may have a lower risk for dementia compared with those treated with medical therapy, researchers found in a retrospective analysis. Read more.

Polypharmacy significantly increased in HF hospitalizations from 2003 to 2014

Polypharmacy, or the condition of taking a high burden of medications, is common in hospitalized patients with heart failure (HF) at admission and discharge, and has increased from 2003 to 2014, researchers found. Read more.

Ultrafiltration could reduce 1-year rehospitalization in acute decompensated HF

Ultrafiltration for acute decompensated HF reduced hospital readmission by 1.74 visits in the following 12 months compared with the prior year, according to data presented at the virtual Heart Failure Society of America Scientific Meeting. Read more.