You might like a lot of things that are offbeat, such as movies, restaurants and music. But when your heart strays from its natural rhythm, it’s time to get your doctor involved.
Normally, a heart’s four chambers contract and relax in an efficient pattern that drives blood throughout the body. This is a process that’s coordinated by electrical signals. Unfortunately, when those signals are disrupted—in a condition called atrial fibrillation, or afib—the result is a rapid, disorganized, ineffective rhythm that fails to efficiently move blood through the heart.
When left uncontrolled, atrial fibrillation can be dangerous. That’s because instead of beating properly, the upper chambers of the heart (the atria) quiver and sometimes fail to pump out all of the blood. The blood that pools in the atria can clot. And if a piece of one of those clots escapes the heart and lodges in an artery, it can block blood flow to the brain, resulting in a stroke. In fact, people who have atrial fibrillation are at a five times greater risk of stroke.
What causes this interruption of electrical signals that results in atrial fibrillation? A wide variety of factors. You’re more likely to have this condition if you have had heart disease, atherosclerosis or angina (chest pain caused when the heart doesn't get enough blood). Men are a little more likely than women to have atrial fibrillation, and other risk factors include high blood pressure, thyroid disease, diabetes, lung disorders, having had heart surgery, sleep apnea, and excessive use of alcohol, cigarettes or stimulant drugs. Also, as you grow older, your risk increases. Among people younger than 60, the incidence of atrial fibrillation is 1 case out of 200 people. Among people over age 80, the incidence is 9 cases out of 100 people.
Atrial fibrillation may come and go, or it may develop into an ongoing condition. You might not notice any symptoms of atrial fibrillation at all, or you might sense an out-of-control heartbeat, pain or pressure in the chest, weakness, sweating, and trouble catching your breath.
To diagnose atrial fibrillation, your doctor typically will listen to your heart with a stethoscope to detect a rapid heartbeat or an irregular rhythm. Use of a 24-hour portable heart monitor might be necessary, since atrial fibrillation is often sporadic. You also might be tested for forms of heart disease that can contribute to atrial fibrillation.
Atrial fibrillation can be treated through several different methods, including medications, a pacemaker or electric stimulation that restores the proper heartbeat, or use of radio waves or surgery to interrupt the misdirected electrical pathways that cause the condition. Blood thinners are also used to reduce the patient’s risk of stroke. Under a doctor’s care, you can often return your heart to a completely normal rhythm.
Learn more about atrial fibrillation heart rhythm screening.
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Sources: American Heart Association, National Institutes of Health, National Library of Medicine
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