Heart Arrhythmia

The number of people with a dangerous heart arrhythmia is higher than previously estimated and increasing, researchers have found. In a study of Minnesota residents, the incidence of atrial fibrillation rose more than 12% between 1980 and 2000, said the study, which was released online July 3 and appears in the July 4 print version of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Assn. At that rate, the number of U.S.

This post has been updated. See below for details. Kenley Jansen hopes to be pitching again by the middle of the month, though surgery awaits his heart condition. Jansen hasn't pitched since Aug. 27 in Colorado, when he once again suffered an irregular heartbeat. After consulting with another heart specialist Tuesday, the Dodgers announced he would remain on blood thinners another 10 days, and hopes to be able to pitch again by Sept. 17, which is an off day. That would make their closer available for the Dodgers' final 15 regular-season games.

This post has been updated. See below for details. Kenley Jansen hopes to be pitching again by the middle of the month, though surgery awaits his heart condition. Jansen hasn't pitched since Aug. 27 in Colorado, when he once again suffered an irregular heartbeat. After consulting with another heart specialist Tuesday, the Dodgers announced he would remain on blood thinners another 10 days, and hopes to be able to pitch again by Sept. 17, which is an off day. That would make their closer available for the Dodgers' final 15 regular-season games.

Elderly male heart patients are two to three times more likely than females to receive implanted devices that shock a malfunctioning heart back into normal rhythms, and white men are about a third more likely than black men to receive them, researchers reported today. Overall, only about a third of patients who are eligible for the potentially lifesaving implanted cardioverter defibrillators are actually getting them, according to a pair of studies in the Journal of the American Medical Assn.

Elderly male heart patients are two to three times more likely than females to receive implanted devices that shock a malfunctioning heart back into normal rhythms, and white men are about a third more likely than black men to receive them, researchers reported today. Overall, only about a third of patients who are eligible for the potentially lifesaving implanted cardioverter defibrillators are actually getting them, according to a pair of studies in the Journal of the American Medical Assn.

Jack K. Berman, 80, a San Francisco judge, socialite and civil rights advocate, died Thursday at a San Francisco hospital of head injuries suffered in a fall. Berman struck his head on the ground after he collapsed from a heart arrhythmia while playing tennis. Berman, a former husband of U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), was born in San Francisco and earned bachelor's and law degrees from UC Berkeley.

Robert D. Orr, 86, who championed education reform as governor of Indiana in the 1980s and later served as U.S. ambassador to Singapore, died Wednesday at Indiana University Medical Center in Indianapolis, said Mark Lubbers, former press secretary and longtime aide for the former governor. He said the cause of death was believed to be heart arrhythmia. Orr, a Republican, served two terms as lieutenant governor before getting the top job in 1981.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday warned that the widely prescribed antibiotic azithromycin -- marketed as Zithromax and Zmax -- may cause potentially fatal changes in the heart rhythm of people who are taking medications to treat existing heart arrhythmia or who have a slower-than normal heart beat or magnesium or potassium deficiencies. Patients with a prolonged QT interval, a heart rhythm irregularity that is a risk factor for ventricular arrhythmias, also should avoid use of the antibiotic, the FDA warned . Azithromycin, one of the most commonly prescribed antibiotics, is used to treat bacterial infections such as ear infections in children, urinary infections, bronchitis, pneumonia and chlamydia, a sexually transmitted disease.

FOOTBALL URBAN LEGEND : Did a Gatorade shower lead to the death of a Hall of Fame football coach? After leading the New York Giants to a victory in Super Bowl XLVI earlier this year, head coach Tom Coughlin earned himself his second post-Super Bowl Gatorade shower (in the Giants' Super Bowl XLII victory, it appeared to be water/melted ice while this time around it was purple Gatorade). While the Gatorade shower is a notable tradition for coaches who just won the big game (a tradition popularized by the New York Giants during the 1980s, although not one invented by the Giants, as I established in a Football Urban Legends Revealed here )

Sepracor Inc. is researching the removal of molecules that cause side effects in some of medicine's best-known drugs. Some of the company's most promising prospects, including the drug's brand name, generic name, purpose, side effects being removed and stage of development: Seldane: Terfenadine; non-sedating allergy pill; heart arrhythmia; patent issued, in final tests on people; launch target 1997.

The number of people with a dangerous heart arrhythmia is higher than previously estimated and increasing, researchers have found. In a study of Minnesota residents, the incidence of atrial fibrillation rose more than 12% between 1980 and 2000, said the study, which was released online July 3 and appears in the July 4 print version of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Assn. At that rate, the number of U.S.

Doctors said Thursday night that Wilt Chamberlain has a slight heart arrhythmia but is in stable condition at Centinela Hospital Medical Center in Inglewood, where he was admitted Wednesday night after complaining of an upset stomach. At a news conference at the hospital, Ellen Goudlock, Chamberlain's personal physician, said the former NBA great will undergo tests over the next few days to try to find the cause of his atrial arrhythmia, a rapid heartbeat in the upper chambers.

* Kirby Puckett: Baseball Hall of Famer, 45, stroke. * Floyd Patterson: Heavyweight boxing champion, 71, Alzheimer's disease and prostate cancer. * Curt Gowdy: Preeminent sportscaster, 86, leukemia. * Steve Howe: Former Dodgers reliever, 48, car accident. * Byron Nelson: Golfing legend, 94, natural causes. * Red Auerbach: Longtime Boston Celtics coach, general manager, 89, heart failure. * Bo Schembechler: Former Michigan football coach, 77, heart attack.