What is Atrial Fibrillation?
Atrial fibrillation, also known as AFib or AF, is an irregular heartbeat of the atria (heart’s upper chamber) compared with the ventricles (heart’s lower chamber). The main cause of Atrial Fibrillation is poor blood flow.
Symptoms of Atrial Fibrillation
Generally, this condition has no symptoms However, in some people, you can see signs like pain in chest areas, dizziness, fatigue, inability to exercise, weakness, and common conditions like breathing issues.
In most cases, a patient may explain his condition of atrial fibrillation as he feels his heart skips a beat and feels like something is kicking on his chest walls, especially when he is using a staircase.
Causes of Atrial Fibrillation
The heart contracts and relaxes during a regular heartbeat. In the case of AFib conditions, the upper heart chamber beats faster than the lower heart chamber. This is mainly because of poor blood flow to that area. Sometimes the pooled blood gets clotted, which may become extremely dangerous. The blood clot may even be carried to the brain, which results in a stroke.
Age does not matter for this condition. People of any age can have artificial fibrillation, but it is most common among older people.
Some other common causes are;
Heart Disease: Afib is highly risky for people with heart-related diseases.
Hypertension: If you have long-term blood pressure, then it results in a stain on the heart.
Alcohol Consumption: The over usage of alcohol also causes Afib
Hereditary: Hereditary may also be a reason to have Afib
Sleep Apnea: In severe cases of sleep arena it causes Afib
Atrial Fibrillation Treatments
The treatment is to make the heartbeat regular and to prevent blood clots.
The treatment method includes;
- Medicine
- Cardioversion ( a therapy to normalize heartbeat)
- Surgery
Which treatment method for your Afib treatment depends on your age, how long you have suffered from AFib, symptoms and the cause of AFib.
Also, if you do not consult a doctor in the best cardiac hospital, your AFib may result in other health issues like stroke and heart failure.
Medicine
There are many medicines that help control the heartbeat, prevent blood clots, and normalize the heart rate. But you need to consult a cardio doctor to know which suits you and the dosage you need to use for the treatment of AFib.
Cardioversion Therapy
Cardioversion Therapy is done in two ways; they are electrical Cardioversion and Drug Cardioversion.
Electrical Cardioversion: In this method, the paddles or patches from the best cardiac mapping patch manufacturers are place on the chest to give an electrical shock to the heart to correct the heartbeat.
Drug Cardioversion: In this method, the medicine is given in the form of an IV or by mouth to correct the heart rate.
Surgery
If medicine and therapy do not work on your AFib treatment, then surgery is the only way for AFib treatment. This procedure is known as cardiac ablation.
There are different types of cardiac ablation, and what to choose depends on your overall health, symptoms, and age. The types include Atrioventricular (AV) node ablation, Maze procedure, Open heart surgery, and Hybrid atrial fibrillation ablation.
AFib is not entirely curable. But its symptoms can be manageable, and if treated, it may lead to severe heart problems and stroke, so do not take a risk consult a doctor and get proper treatment.
