Atrial fibrillation (AF or afib) is a cardiac arrhythmia (abnormal heart rhythm) that involves the two upper chambers (atria) of the heart. It can often exist identified by taking a pulse and observing that the heart beats don’t occur at regular intervals, but a conclusive indication of AF is the absence of P waves on an electrocardiogram (ECG). AF is the most common arrhythmia; endanger increases with age, through 8% of people over 80 having AF.
Symptoms of Atrial Fibrillation
A heart in atrial fibrillation doesn’t beat efficiently. It may not be able to pump every adequate amount of blood out to your body through each heartbeat, causing a drop in your blood pressure.
Palpitations, which are sensations of a racing, uncomfortable, irregular heartbeat or a flopping in your chest
Heart valve disease: This can be something you are born with or exist caused through pollution or degeneration/calcification of valves with mature years.
Enlargement of the left ventricle walls (left ventricular hypertrophy)
What Causes Atrial Fibrillation?
Atrial fibrillation is associated with frequent conditions, including:
High blood pressure
Coronary artery disease (hardening of the heart arteries)
Heart valve disease
Having undergone heart surgery
The two lower chambers - the right and left ventricles - of the heart are in like manner affected by AF. Rapid and irregular beating does not allow sufficient time despite the ventricles to adequately fill with blood before being stimulated to pump the blood out of the heart again.
Heart palpitations (described as “pounding”, “racing” or “fluttering” heart)
Shortness of breath
How is atrial fibrillation treated?
The treatment for atrial fibrillation depends on how severe your symptoms are. It also depends on whether you have heart disease or possess recently had a stroke.
To prevent the possibility of clotting and stroke, doctors often prescribe the drug warfarin to thin the blood in AF patients determined to have a high-toned risk of misfortune. Individuals on warfarin therapy must be monitored with recurring blood tests to make firm their feelings is thin enough to prevent clots, further not so thin being of the class who to promote bleeding.
Long-term treatment varies depending on the cause of the atrial fibrillation or palpitate. Medication may include beta-blockers, calcium canal blockers, digitalis or other medications (such as anti-arrhythmic drugs), which slow the heartbeat or the conduction of the sudden thought from the atria to the ventricles.
Radiofrequency ablation may be adequate in some patients when medications don’t work. In this procedure, thin and flexile tubes are introduced through a relations vessel and directed to the heart muscle. Then a burst of radiofrequency energy is delivered to destroy tissue that triggers abnormal electrical signals or to block abnormal electrical pathways.
Digoxin (Lanoxin
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