Atrial Fibrillation
• Definition
· Atrial fibrillation is an arrhythmia, or irregular heart rhythm, resulting from damage in the electrical conduction of the heart.
• Overview
· Atrial fibrillation is the most common chronic arrhythmia
· Atrial fibrillation incidence increases with age and it affects nearly 10% of individuals over the age of 80.
· The risk of developing atrial fibrillation increases with an enlarged size of the left atrium of the heart.
· Atrial fibrillation can result from hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid).
· Atrial fibrillation often appears episodically before becoming constant.
· Atrial fibrillation is usually associated with a fast heart rate.
“Holiday heart” refers to an acute alcohol excess and withdrawal-induced atrial fibrillation.
This is usually transient and self-limited.
· Atrial fibrillation is characterized by a ventricular rate is rapid and the rhythm is very irregular.
• Symptoms
· Atrial fibrillation symptoms include:
· palpitations (the feeling that the heart is beating forcefully, fast or irregularly)
· fatigue
• Complications:
· Atrial fibrillation complications include:
· fast heart rate
· heart attack
· low blood pressure
· heart injury
• Treatment
· Atrial fibrillation treatment includes:
· medications to slow the heart rate
· medications to control the heart rhythm
· anti-coagulation (anti-clotting) medication to prevent stroke
· electrical shock to reset the heart back to normal sinus rhythm
References
Parmet S et al. JAMA patient page. Atrial fibrillation. JAMA. 2003;290:1118. [PMID: 12941685]
Snow V et al. Management of newly detected atrial fibrillation: a clinical practice guideline from the American Academy of Family Physicians and the American College of Physicians. Ann Intern Med. 2003;139:1009. [PMID: 14678921]
Corley SD et al; AFFIRM Investigators. Relationships between sinus rhythm, treatment, and survival in the Atrial Fibrillation Follow-Up Investigation of Rhythm Management (AFFIRM) Study. Circulation. 2004 Mar 30;109(12):1509-13. [PMID: 15007003]
Posted on September 24, 2008
