Atrial fibrillation
Alternative Names
Alternative Names A fib, Auricular fibrillation, AFWhat is Atrial fibrillation
Atrial fibrillation is an irregular heartbeat, called arrhythmia and characterized by an extremely fast irregular rhythm. It increases the risk of stroke and usually causes poor blood flow to the body. When an individual has atrial fibrillation, the heart's two upper chambers (the atria) beat in a chaotic way and do not coordinate with the two lower chambers (the ventricles). AF may be chronic.
There are different types of AF:
- paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (comes and goes and usually stops within 48 hours without any treatment)
- persistent atrial fibrillation (lasts for longer than seven days)
- longstanding persistent atrial fibrillation
- permanent atrial fibrillation
Signs and symptoms
Sometimes people do not have any symptoms but commonly the symptoms include:
- heart palpitations
- shortness of breath
- weakness or fatigue
- dizziness
- faintness
- light-headedness or mild to severe chest pains
Possible complications
This disease can cause the following complications:
- stroke
- heart failure
What causes
AF may be triggered by:
- systemic disease or metabolic abnormality
- cardiovascular disease
- no underlying disease state
Prevention
You should take the following precautions in order to prevent the disease:
- reduce or eliminate caffeinated and alcoholic beverages from your diet (they can sometimes trigger atrial fibrillation)
- be careful when taking over-the-counter (OTC) medications (cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine, contain stimulants that can trigger atrial fibrillation)
Treatment
It is important to consult your doctor concerning the treatment plan. The recommended medications include:
- warfarin (Coumadin) is given (to prevent blood clots)
- digoxin (Lanoxin)(to reduce heart rates)
To restoring normal heart rhythm doctors may recommend you to use cardioversion or defibrillation. There are two types of cardioversion, drug cardioversion and electrical cardioversion.
