HEALTH

AFib: Living With and Treating This Common Condition

Adiagnosis of atrial fibrillation may be scary, but it doesn’t have to hold you back from enjoying life. Learning more about the condition and treatment options can significantly affect your prognosis and quality of living.

AFib is the most common type of cardiac arrhythmia or abnormal heart rhythm. It occurs when the upper chambers of the heart (the atria) beat rapidly or in an uncontrolled manner. AFib can cause a wide variety of symptoms, including heart palpitations, fatigue, shortness of breath, difficulty exercising, anxiety, chest pain and dizziness.

AFib impacts nearly 40 million people worldwide, according to research published in the International Journal of Stroke, including six million people in the U.S. alone. Despite its prevalence, many people are unfamiliar with the symptoms, available treatment options and importance of early treatment to avoid disease progression or other life-threatening complications such as a stroke.

More than a quarter of adults living with AFib have fears and anxiety about its progressive nature, according to a survey conducted by Biosense Webster, Inc., part of Johnson & Johnson MedTech. However, a quarter of patients did not get treatment immediately after diagnosis and 44% of patients have ended up in the emergency room due to their condition.

Speak to Your Doctor

Despite half of adults 55 and older believing they may be at risk for AFib, only one-fifth (18%) said their doctors have ever discussed it with them and even less (10%) have proactively spoken to their doctors about it. Recognizing symptoms and talking to your doctor as soon as possible can help prevent the progression of AFib.

Make Lifestyle Changes

About one in four adults over the age of 40 are at risk of developing AFib. The causes are wide ranging and include non-modifiable and lifestyle factors. Some non-modifiable risk factors include age, family history and a heart disease diagnosis.

Making lifestyle changes to control factors such as obesity, smoking and sleep apnea may help lower your risk. Limiting alcohol and caffeine consumption and controlling your stress can also reduce your risk and may help manage AFib episodes.

Consider Treatment Options

For most AFib patients, treatment begins with medication that can be used for controlling your heart rate, rhythm and blood thickness, but about half of patients don’t respond to or can’t tolerate medications. Catheter ablation is a procedure to restore the heart’s incorrect electrical signals that cause an abnormal heart rhythm. It is recommended by the American College of Cardiology, the Heart Rhythm Society and the American Heart Association for patients when medication proves to be unsuccessful.

To learn more about AFib and treatment options, including catheter ablation, visit getsmartaboutafib. com. (Family Features) 

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NEWS FEATURE CALARTS

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ization at CalArts, is one of its longest serving faculty members.

Roitstein and the late legendary jazz musician Charlie Hayden started the jazz program at CalArts in 198283.

Hayden was known as a pioneer of free jazz in the 1960s and was among the most influential bassists in the jazz world.

“In 1990 we realized our first CD project recorded at Capital Records and last year we released the 31st version of it,” said Roitstein. “We go in every spring and record an entire album’s worth of new and original compositions by students in our program.”

The jazz album is only one example of the opportunities afforded to CalArts students.

“CalArts is a very special place,” said Roitstein, now in his 40th year on the faculty. “I’ve always seen CalArts as a miracle, it is a totally unique place, it’s not like any other school.”

Roitstein credits the small size of CalArts and its supportive board of trustees and administrators for making CalArts an uncommon institution.

“CalArts is very much a “bottom-up kind of place, not a top-down place,” he said. “Ideas come from students, faculty, staff,” he said. “All the best ideas come from those of us in the trenches working together every day.”

When Roitstein arrived at CalArts in 1981 he said CalArts was “still pretty wild.”

“It was very unstructured and very adventurous, very unique and very individual and always surprising,” he said. “I loved that it always inspired me.”

While the intervening years may have tamped down some of the wild side of CalArts, Roitstein said the students at CalArts remain the most “courageous, original and adventurous of any other school that I know of.”

“CalArts has been very significant to advances in every area of art studied at CalArts,” he said. “In writing, in research, visual arts, animation, graphic design, dance, theater, film and all kinds of music … across the spectrum CalArts has been a leader in all of these art forms across the world.”

CalArts Graduations

In the past 50 years CalArts has been known for its “epic” graduation ceremonies. Ushers at graduation exercises have been known to hand out whistles and jars of soap bubbles.

Roitstein said in the early years of CalArts there are many stories of “legendary graduations and they were pretty much all true, none were exaggerated or untrue.”

Roitstein’s favorite graduation story is when Bob Fitzpatrick, president of CalArts from 1974 to 1987, was “kidnapped” by a group of students who put him on a helicopter and flew him “way up on I-5 near Frazier Park.”

Fitzpatrick was wearing an “expensive, crisp, white linen suit” that had become smeared with fake blood during another graduation stunt.

“He hitchhiked back to CalArts in a ‘blood-stained white linen suit,’” said Roitstein. “He made it back by the end of commencement. I could tell you a 100 graduation stories but that one is in a class by itself.”

Celebrations

A 50th anniversary kickoff celebration was held Oct. 13 with a cake cutting ceremony and party.

Like many celebrations during the COVID-19 pandemic, the CalArts 50th anniversary was pushed into its 51st year.

“In November 2021 they weren’t letting us gather here because of the pandemic,” said Rajon. “We are kicking off now to bookend our 50th year.”

Events include an alumni reunion and the World Music Festival in April, 2023.

“This is really going to be a ‘happening,’” said Marylou Ferry, vice president CalArts Marketing and Communications. “We will have our alumni back, the community, our past employees.”

Rajon said he wants everyone to celebrate with CalArts.

“In typical CalArts fashion we can’t just have one celebration. It will be a three-day marathon celebration,” he said. “We will have numerous performances.”

For more information on the CalArts 50th Anniversary Celebration visit celebrate.calarts.edu. 