Improving care for patients with atrial fibrillation through the use of a personal electrocardiogram.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia affecting more than six million people in the United States. The economic burden is estimated to be >$6 billion annually with catastrophic events dramatically increasing expenditure. When patients experience symptoms, they commonly present to an acute care facility; this can be costly and anxiety provoking.

Association of heart rate recovery and maximum oxygen consumption in patients with chronic congestive heart failure.

Background: Peak oxygen consumption (peak VO2) is one of the strongest predictors of mortality in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF). In contrast to measurements of peak VO2, which requires analysis of expired gases, heart rate recovery, defined as maximum heart rate minus heart rate at 1 minute after exercise, is easily obtained. The current study was undertaken to determine the association between peak VO2 and heart rate recovery in patients with CHF.