Atrial fibrillation is a disorder that affects the heart rhythm pattern. It is a kind of cardiac disorder that impacts the heart’s two upper chambers and causes a disorder in this organ. It can turn risky with age and at times the consequences can even be fatal. It has been seen that almost 8% people above 80 suffer from this disorder. It results in uneven heartbeat. It can be persistent or non-persistent. It often tends to become a continual ailment. This disorder, by itself is not fatal, but may lead to consequences like chest pain, fainting or congestive heart failure. The afflicted people face increased risk of stroke than normal people. It is more prevalent in the male population than the female.
The risk of suffering from stroke due to atrial fibrillation increases with age and hence if a senior person who suffers from atrial fibrillation feels discomfort in his chest he should be given immediate medical attention.
Atrial Fibrillation Cause
The heart muscle expands and contracts in a regular pattern which is known as heartbeats. This is made possible by the electrical impulses that reach the heart muscle. In case the transmission of those impulses is damaged or being interfered with, the heartbeats become irregular and faster. This is known as fibrillation. This results in reduced efficiency of the heart which in due course of time results in heart failure.
There can be a number of reasons behind the development of atrial fibrillation. If a person undergoes a heart attack or heart damage he may form this disorder. Diabetes is another significant reason behind this disease. People who consume excessive alcohol and suffer from hypertension eventually develop this ailment. The patients of hyperthyroidism are also prone to this menace. In some cases of atrial fibrillation, no particular reason is detected.
Symptoms of Atrial Fibrillation
The most common symptom of atrial fibrillation is the sensation of the heart thumping or racing in the chest. This feeling is called palpitation in general. Some afflicted people also get the sensation of light headedness. This disorder hinders the regular blood flow cycle through the heart to some extent. Therefore, some other effects like shortness of breath and swollen ankles may occur. People suffering from this ailment may feel worn out without working hard for the most of the time. This is often the most common symptom that takes them to the doctor and on further tests this disease is revealed.
A significant point to note about this disease is that the disease is not easily identified by routine checkups.
Types of Atrial Fibrillation
The European Society of Cardiology, American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association have come up with the classification of this ailment on the basis of clinical relevance and simplicity.
The types are First detected atrial fibrillation, recurrent atrial fibrillation and Lone atrial fibrillation. A newly detected victim of atrial fibrillation falls in the first variant. The second category refers to the patients who have undergone two or more episodes of the disorder. LAF or Lone atrial fibrillation is the variant of the ailment where no clinical evidence of cardiopulmonary disease can be found.
Atrial Fibrillation Treatment
The major goal of the treatment is to ensure that the person has a heart rhythm which is regular. ECG is a process that is used extensively to detect the occurrence of irregular heart beat pattern. The patients undergo treatments so that their regular heartbeat rhythm can be restored back to normalcy. For achieving this, electrocardioversion is performed on the patient. In this method, electric current is employed to restore the heart’s normal rhythm pattern.
To regulate the heart rate, medicines like digoxin is used. There are some medications available for averting blood clotting. In certain cases, atrial fibrillation can stem from some other severe diseases like coronary artery disease or an overactive thyroid gland. In such a case, treating the root malady solves the problem of atrial fibrillation.
When a medical practitioner treats one for atrial fibrillation he or she ensures that there is no clot formed in his/her heart which might cause trigger a heart attack.
