In Australia, Atrial Fibrillation is a more common cause of hospital admissions than heart attacks.
The need for more research into preventing and managing this cardiovascular condition is vital, with Atrial Fibrillation putting people at higher risk of stroke, heart failure, kidney disease, dementia and premature death.
Together with our Group charity Australian Heart Research, we are funding medical research focused on the prevention, early detection, management and treatment of Atrial Fibrillation.
Professor Jeroen Hendriks explains "What is Atrial Fibrillation?"
Atrial Fibrillation Support
Undertaking a clinical trial of a drug which shows promise in preventing Atrial Fibrillation by addressing its three common risk factors: high blood pressure, excess weight and diabetes.
Researcher
Associate Professor Christopher Wong is hoping the drug can treat the cause of Atrial Fibrillation, enabling the focus to be on prevention rather than managing symptoms or complications once they arise.
Investigating whether an aggressive approach to weight and lifestyle management can decrease Atrial Fibrillation (AD) symptoms and reduce hospitalisations.
Researcher
Cardiologist Dr Dennis Lau aims to treat obesity and other risk factors to reduce AF symptoms and potentially save lives.
Running a specialised and multi-disciplinary clinic at the Royal Adelaide Hospital that has an integrated care (i-CARE) approach for managing people’s Atrial Fibrillation, ensuring strong collaboration between specialists, nurses and allied professionals.
Researchers
Professor Prash Sanders and Dr Jeroen Hendriks run the innovative iCARE clinic to improve treatment for Atrial Fibrillation.
Undertaking overnight sleep studies and analysing other sleep data to determine whether the electrophysiological changes experienced by people with sleep apnoea contributes to Atrial Fibrillation (AF).
Researcher
With obstructive sleep apnoea four times more common among patients with AF than those without, Associate Professor Dominik Linz hopes that treating sleep apnoea might also prevent AF!
Investigating whether subclinical Atrial Fibrillation is associated with risks of dementia and whether the screening guidelines for Atrial Fibrillaton need to be adapted.
Researcher
Cardiologist Dr Rajiv Mahajan says that AF causes small blood clots that travel to the brain, sometimes causing silent strokes that patients are not aware of, increasing the risk of dementia.
