Advances in the management of atrial fibrillation with a special focus on non-pharmacological approaches to prevent thromboembolism: a review of current recommendations.

Atrial fibrillation (AFIB) is the most common heart rhythm abnormality and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. While the treatment of AFIB involves strategies of rate with or without rhythm control, it is also essential to strategize appropriate therapies to prevent thromboembolic complications arising from AFIB. Previously, anticoagulation was the main treatment option which exposed patients to higher than usual risk of bleeding. However, with the advent of new technology, novel therapeutic options aimed at surgical or percutaneous exclusion or occlusion of the left atrial appendage in preventing thromboembolic complications from AFIB have evolved. This review evaluates recent advances and therapeutic options in treating AFIB with a special focus on both surgical and percutaneous interventions which can reduce and/or eliminate thromboembolic complications of AFIB.

The Interrelation of Neurological and Psychological Symptoms of COVID-19: Risks and Remedies.

COVID-19 has catastrophically affected the world's panoramic view of human well-being in terms of healthcare and management. With the increase in the number of cases worldwide, neurological symptoms and psychological illnesses from COVID-19 have increasingly upsurged. Mental health illness and affective disorders, including depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety, phobia, and panic disorders, are highly impacted due to social distress. The COVID-19 pandemic not only affected people with pre-existing mental and affective illnesses, but also healthy individuals with anxiety, worrying, and panic symptoms, and fear conditioning. In addditon, the novel coronavirus is known to impact the central nervous system in the brain, resulting in severe and certain long-lasting neurological issues. Owing to the significance of neurological and psychological events, the present perspective has been an attempt to disseminate the impact of COVID-19 on neural injury through inflammation, and its interrelation with psychological symptoms. In this current review, we synthesize the literature to highlight the critical associations between SARS-CoV-2 infection and the nervous system, and mental health illness, and discuss potential mechanisms of neural injury through psycho-neuroimmunity.