Getting Back Into Rhythm: Treatment for Atrial Fibrillation

Your heart keeps you moving, so it’s important to ensure that it is healthy and beating to the right beat. Atrial fibrillation (AFib) is the most common abnormal heart rhythm in the United States. It can have negative consequences on the heart, including an increased risk of stroke and heart failure. So what is atrial fibrillation, its symptoms and treatment options?

What is Atrial Fibrillation

The heart functions optimally when the heart muscle, valves and electrical properties of the heart are in sync, allowing humans to live long and healthy lives. A normal heart rhythm is very regular, which is essential to feeling well. In atrial fibrillation, your heart loses about 20% of its pumping efficiency, leading to fatigue and shortness of breath during strenuous activity.

When Your Heart Skips a Beat

“Everyone has skipped beats,” says Dr. Altawil, “where they notice an irregular heartbeat from time to time.” That’s not what he and his colleagues are concerned about. It’s when these bouts are sustained or prolonged, lasting anywhere from 10 minutes to days, weeks or even years before being recognized.

“Most patients feel terrible when they go into atrial fibrillation, so they will seek medical treatment,” Dr. Altawil says. Common signs are feeling sick, dizzy and the need to sit down and rest. He says that patients with symptoms are the safest because their doctors can diagnose their atrial fibrillation and treat it. Initial treatment usually involves medications that control the heart rate and blood thinners that prevent clots from forming in the heart that can migrate to the brain and cause a stroke.

It’s the patients without symptoms who Dr. Altawil worries the most about, as many don’t know they have AFib until they have a life-threatening event such as a stroke.

A heart specialist called an electrophysiologist can use a procedure in which a catheter, or thin tube, is inserted into a blood vessel in the groin and threaded up to the heart. There, small portions of heart tissue can be strategically scarred through either high heat (radiofrequency ablation) or cold (cryoablation). This scarring will prevent electrical impulses from traveling where they are not supposed to. This minimally invasive procedure avoids open-heart surgery and has a 70% success rate in curing AFib.

Another important aspect in the treatment of atrial fibrillation is risk factor modification. This includes treatment of obesity, sleep apnea, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, coronary disease and cessation of smoking, heavy alcohol use and drug use. Medications and/or ablation alone are not sufficient and must be accompanied by appropriate treatment of these other medical problems as well.

Atrial fibrillation is the most common heart rhythm disorder and one that is underdiagnosed. See your doctor if you experience an irregular heartbeat and symptoms of dizziness, light-headedness or fainting. Today, there are treatment options for AFib that can restore your quality of life – and might just save it. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Mahmoud Altawil, visit FindHeartCare.com.