Atrial Fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation (say: ay-tree-all fib-rill-ay-shun) is an irregular heartbeat that may be very fast.

Your heart has 4 compartments called chambers. The top 2 chambers are called the atria (say: ay-tree-ah). The bottom 2 chambers are called the ventricles (say: ven-trick-ells). In atrial fibrillation, the atria stop beating regularly. Instead, they tremble (fibrillate) in a disorganized way. This can cause an irregular, and sometimes very fast, heartbeat.

Atrial fibrillation is most common in people older than 60 years of age. However, you can get atrial fibrillation at any age. Sometimes, atrial fibrillation has no cause, but your risk goes up if you have any of the following:

The most common symptom is a feeling like your heart is beating very fast for no reason (called "palpitations"). Other common symptoms include an irregular pulse, feeling tired, shortness of breath and chest pain.

Sometimes, atrial fibrillation can cause a blood clot to form in your heart. If this clot breaks off and travels to your brain, you might have a stroke.

In some people, atrial fibrillation doesn't cause any symptoms.

The treatment for atrial fibrillation depends on how severe your symptoms are. It also depends on whether you have heart disease or have recently had a stroke.

If the fibrillation is new and you are having lots of symptoms, your doctor may decide to treat you with electrical cardioversion (say: kar-dee-oh-ver-shun). For this treatment, you are given a medicine to keep calm. Then, your heart is given an electric shock to make it return to its normal rhythm.

If your symptoms are mild, you might be given medicine to slow down your heartbeat. If the atrial fibrillation does not go away, your doctor may decide to try electrical cardioversion.

You may be given a blood-thinning medicine such as heparin, aspirin (one brand name: Bayer) or warfarin (brand name: Coumadin). You will need to take this medicine if you are going to have cardioversion, if you have had a stroke, or if your doctor thinks you are at risk for having a stroke in the future.

Your doctor may ask you to limit your use of alcohol and caffeine, or avoid using them at all. They can increase your heart rate.

Treating the cause of your atrial fibrillation often returns your heart rate to normal. If your doctor can't treat the cause, you might need to keep taking medicine to control your heart rate. To avoid complications, take your medicine just the way your doctor tells you. If you are taking a blood-thinning medicine, your doctor will probably recommend regular blood tests.

You may experience complications of atrial fibrillation or side effects from your treatment. Call your doctor if you have any of the following symptoms: