By Dianne Gebhardt-French
SmartHealthToday
September is Atrial Fibrillation Awareness Month and we’ll be sharing a related story each week throughout the month. First up is explaining what atrial fibrillation (or AFib) is.
Your heart seems to race. Or beats too slow.
It could very well be one of the most common heart rhythm disorders – atrial fibrillation.
“And that can be fixed,” said Dr. Mohamad C. Sinno, an electorphsyiologist with St. Elizabeth Heart & Vascular Institute.
If medication is not controlling your AFib, you may be a candidate for ablation, a new minimally invasive treatment, Sinno explained. By freezing or using intense heat, ablation destroys abnormal tissue interfering with the strong, steady heart rhythm.
Ablation has a success rate of 70 to 80 percent. “Patients go home the next day,” said Sinno.
AFib symptoms include palpitations or the feeling that your heart is racing. Patients with AFib report fatigue, shortness of breath, chest pain or dizziness. The condition can strike those with high blood pressure, a history of heart or lung disease, or a viral infection. But, because it can be related to a nerve that serves the heart, it also can strike an active, athletic person.
Fast Facts on AFib
It’s the most common heart rhythm problem in the U.S.
The top chambers of the heart quiver instead of beat.
There may be no symptoms.
It can increase the risk for heart attack or stroke.
The incidence grows exponentially with every decade of life.
It can be fixed.
See also:
5 AFib facts that could save your life
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