Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Association Of Sickle Cell Trait With Exertional Rhabdomyolysis And Atrial Fibrillation., Daniel R. Douce

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Sickle cell trait (SCT), sickle cell disease’s carrier status, is a common genetic variant found in many people of African, South Asian, Middle Eastern and Mediterranean descent. While overall considered a benign carrier status, it has been associated with an increased risk of several diseases, including exertional rhabdomyolysis (ER), and chronic kidney disease. While epidemiological evidence links SCT with ER, the actual pathophysiological mechanism less understood. Additionally, while there is an increased prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF) documented in people with sickle cell disease, studies in individuals with SCT are lacking.

The objectives of this thesis are twofold: The first …

A Mechanistically Guided Approach To Treatment Of Multi-Wavelet Reentry: Experiments In A Computational Model Of Cardiac Propagation, Richard T. Carrick

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia in the United States today. However, treatment options remain limited despite the enormous magnitude of both AF prevalence and the associated economic cost. Of those treatment options that are available, ablation-based interventional methods have demonstrated the highest rates of long-term cure. Unfortunately, these methods have substantially lower efficacy in patients with heavier burdens of disease, thus leaving the most affected individuals with the least hope for successful treatment.

The focus of this research is to develop a mechanistically guided approach towards the treatment of multi-wavelet reentry (MWR), one of the primary …

Gout As A Significant Risk Factor For Cardiovascular Disease: A Case Study, Emily Leonhard

Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN)

Gout, an inflammatory arthritis caused by elevated serum uric acid levels, is emerging as a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Recently, a nurse practitioner (NP) was caring for a patient who was suffering from a particularly severe gout attack while being treated in the ICU for new onset Atrial Fibrillation. The patient reported that he had never had an attack this severe before. He asked the NP if his history of gout could be related to his recent heart problems. The nurse practitioner, in order to answer the patient’s question, spent time researching the disease process of gout, …

Addressing The Controversy Of Rate-Versus-Rhythm Control In Atrial Fibrillation, Tahmeed Contractor, Vadim Levin, Ravi Desai, Francis E Marchlinski

Vadim A Levin MD

Atrial fibrillation is the most common sustained cardiac arrhythmia and significantly increases patient risk of stroke, cardiomyopathy, and mortality. Rate versus rhythm control as the "best" treatment strategy remains an issue of considerable, ongoing debate. A multitude of clinical trials have compared the 2 strategies and have not shown any benefit of one approach over the other. However, the trials were conducted in specific subgroups of patients and demonstrated low success rates with antiarrhythmic drug (AAD) therapy and a high incidence of adverse AAD effects. Sub-analyses of the trials have confirmed that successful rhythm control with sinus rhythm restoration is …

Addressing The Controversy Of Rate-Versus-Rhythm Control In Atrial Fibrillation, Tahmeed Contractor, Vadim Levin, Ravi Desai, Francis E Marchlinski

Ravi V Desai MD

Atrial fibrillation is the most common sustained cardiac arrhythmia and significantly increases patient risk of stroke, cardiomyopathy, and mortality. Rate versus rhythm control as the "best" treatment strategy remains an issue of considerable, ongoing debate. A multitude of clinical trials have compared the 2 strategies and have not shown any benefit of one approach over the other. However, the trials were conducted in specific subgroups of patients and demonstrated low success rates with antiarrhythmic drug (AAD) therapy and a high incidence of adverse AAD effects. Sub-analyses of the trials have confirmed that successful rhythm control with sinus rhythm restoration is …