Atrial Fibrilation

[daughter_of_amid_chaos]

Does anyone know about this or could give me any information on what it means?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Mskanga]

Atrial fibrillation is a disorder found in about 2 million Americans. In it the heart's two small upper chambers (the atria) quiver instead of beating effectively. Blood isn't pumped completely out of them, so it may pool and clot. If a piece of a blood clot in the atria leaves the heart and becomes lodged in an artery in the brain, a stroke results. About 15 percent of strokes occur in people with atrial fibrillation.

How is atrial fibrillation treated?

Several approaches are used to treat and prevent abnormal beating:

Medications are used to slow down rapid heart rate associated with AF. These treatments may include drugs such as digoxin, beta blockers (atenolol, metoprolol, propranolol), amiodarone, disopyramide, calcium antagonists (verapamil, diltiazam), sotalol, flecainide, procainamide, quinidine, propafenone, etc.
Electrical cardioversion may be used to restore normal heart rhythm with an electric shock, when medication doesn't improve symptoms.
Radiofrequency ablation may be effective in some patients when medications don't work. In this procedure, thin and flexible tubes are introduced through a blood 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.
Surgery (rarely performed) can be used to disrupt electrical pathways that generate AF.
Atrial pacemakers can be implanted under the skin to regulate the heart rhythm.

 

[daughter_of_amid_chaos]

Thanks that helps a lot.

 

[C.Ann]

Among other things, this is one of the conditions that my DH suffers from.. Due to his declining health, they have chosen to use medication only (diltiazam) as they don't feel that he would survive any of the other options..

However, if a person is otherwise healthy, the electrocardioversion often does the trick..

 

[daughter_of_amid_chaos]

Originally posted by C.Ann
Among other things, this is one of the conditions that my DH suffers from.. Due to his declining health, they have chosen to use medication only (diltiazam) as they don't feel that he would survive any of the other options..

However, if a person is otherwise healthy, the electrocardioversion often does the trick..

They are telling him to change his diet, sleep more, and get more exercise. He is an incredibly healthy person he just doesn't sleep a lot at all because of his work schedule.

 

[C.Ann]

Originally posted by daughter_of_amid_chaos
They are telling him to change his diet, sleep more, and get more exercise. He is an incredibly healthy person he just doesn't sleep a lot at all because of his work schedule.

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How old is this person? If this is what the doctors are saying, then rest assured they know what they are talking about.. AF can effect (or is that "affect") people in varying degrees and I'm betting his good health has a lot to do with it..

Try not to worry and if the AF ever becomes worse, the electrocardioversion could eliminate it totally..