Home
Featured Story
July 14, 2025
Researchers identify why some heart rhythm drugs heighten risks when sodium levels drop
New research explains how low levels of the electrolyte sodium in the blood can disrupt the timing of the heartbeat in patients taking widely used rhythm-control medications such as flecainide, which is commonly prescribed for atrial fibrillation and other fast or irregular heart rhythms.
The study, by Virginia Tech researchers at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute in the journal Heart Rhythm, was conducted using guinea pig hearts and showed that blocking cardiac sodium channels with commonly prescribed medicine such as flecainide can make the heart’s electrical conduction unusually sensitive to even modest reductions in blood sodium levels.
Upcoming
-
Home Item
2025 Vascular and Heart Research Symposium , homeAug. 18-19, 2025 | Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC | 4 Riverside Circle, Roanoke, Virginia
Creating a healthier future. For everyone.
The Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC is one of the nation’s fastest-growing academic biomedical research enterprises and a destination for world-class researchers. The institute’s Virginia Tech scientists focus on diseases that are the leading causes of death and suffering in the United States, including brain disorders, heart disease, and cancer. Since its founding in 2010, the research institute has experienced unprecedented growth: doubling its enterprise and lab facilities in Roanoke, while also investing in brand-new laboratories on the Children’s National Research & Innovation Campus in Washington, D.C.
NEWS
In the News
-
Redirect Item
-
Redirect Item
-
Redirect Item
VIDEOS
-
Home Item
Special Seminar: PVC-Induced Cardiomyopathy: The Importance of the Neural Mediator and Therapeutic Implications , homeJuly 25, 2025, 1 p.m. | Alex Tan, M.D., Attending Electrophysiologist, Richmond Veterans Affairs Medical Center; Associate Professor of Medicine, VCU Health Pauley Heart Center | Special Seminar
-
Home Item
6th Annual Summer Programs Research Symposium , homeAugust 1, 2025, 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. | Including poster presentations from students in the neuroSURF, cardioSURF, and VTCSOM EIP SURF programs
-
Redirect Item
2025 Vascular and Heart Research Symposium , redirectAug. 18-19, 2025 | Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC | 4 Riverside Circle, Roanoke, Virginia
-
Home Item
Center for Neurobiology Research Welcome Symposium 2025 , homeAug. 29, 2025, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. | Center for Neurobiology Research Welcome Symposium
Giving to the Research Institute
Your generous support of the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute's rigorous biomedical research enterprise makes a difference for our faculty, students, and patients. Every donation helps accelerate the pace of new discoveries to help patients with cancer, neurological disorders, heart disease, and even rare genetic disorders. Private donations fast-track our progress.