Information to Help You Understand Atrial Fibrillation

The common name that you will here for atrial fibrillation is Afib.   Among the common symptoms of Afib are palpitations.   Other signs that are common are shortness of breath, losing consciousness, and feeling tired a lot.   It is possible to find patients with atrial fibrillation but has no symptoms.  It has not been clearly established why some people with this condition experience symptoms while others do not.   In most of the patients, the symptoms can be connected to a more rapid heartbeat.   In some patients, experiencing symptoms can be related to the heart beating too slowly during atrial fibrillation.   Doctors will usually lookout for an irregular pulse when listening to the heart with a stethoscope as the most common sign of African art physical examination. Find out more info here about Atrial Fibrillation.

Patients who experience the symptoms of atrial fibrillation will be feeling unwell, especially those who have episodes of this condition that come and go.   Any person who experiences some of the mentioned symptoms needs to seek immediate medical help. 

Afib itself may not be a direct and immediate risk of death, and many patients live with the condition for many years.   However, you can end up with severe complications as a result of the condition, such as stroke and heart failure. 

 The occurrence of stroke for patients with Afib per year is at 5%.  One will have five times the risk of suffering a stroke when they have atrial fibrillation compared to someone of their age and sex without the condition.  The strokes happen either because a blood vessel in the brain gets blocked or they start bleeding.  The stroke where one experiences blockage is more common than one that is caused by bleeding.   The blockage occurs since blood cells stick together and form clots, and once released into the bloodstream, and up blocking arteries.   The root cause of this problem is uncoordinated electrical activity in a person’s atria. A stroke results anytime the blockage is experienced in brain arteries. 

 The type of a stroke that you will suffer or the extent of symptoms that you will experience as a result of the stroke can vary depending on the part of the brain that is involved.   The implications of the stroke will be higher when one has a bigger clot, which has resulted in a more significant blockage in the artery.  You need to seek medical attention if you have any symptoms that point to the presence of a stroke. 

Living with Afib can cause the patient to experience heart failure.   A person with heart failure due to other reasons may also end up suffering from Afib. For more information, click on this link: https://www.britannica.com/science/atrial-fibrillation.