Wednesday 11 April 2012

Cause and Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation

The term Atrial Fibrillation (afib) generally refers to an irregular heart rate. Our heart is an organic pump that requires electrical impulses to operate. It has four chambers which are connected through valves. The upper two chambers are bigger in size and are called atriums, while the lower two are smaller and are named as ventricles. Your heart may start to flutters if there is some problem in the process of electrical signal generation. The matter of irregular heart beating is serious and the results can be chaotic! You must not let this problem persist and you should get it cured at your earliest.

Causes


You just cannot conclude that you have a heart disease by knowing that you are suffering from atrial fibrillation. Do you know a number of young people experience this problem without having a history or present references to heart diseases? I am sure this was new to your knowledge base. I am discussing down some of the most common afib cases, in which there is nothing wrong with the heart.

a. Pneumonia

In this case, the electrical signals in the heart get distorted when the parasites, fungi, virus, or bacteria that affected your lungs in this respiratory disease, reaches your heart flowing in the blood stream.

b. Pulmonary Embolism

It is actually the blockage of pulmonary artery by a clot of blood and is also known as “a blood clot in the lung.” Due to the blood clot, a certain area of lung dies as blood fails to travel to that area.

c.  Holiday Heart

It basically refers to the condition of heart in which it experiences afib when certain triggers stimulate it. Caffeine and alcohol are the two examples of such triggers. These triggers, if consumed too much, can result in a fast paced heart.

d. Hyperthyroidism or Excessive Thyroid    

Afib may also initiate in case of excessive production of thyroid hormones in your body. This disease is itself very problematic and causes a number of complications to the sufferer. Some of the major problems are bone loss, problems during pregnancy, and an increased rate of heart beating.

Atrial fibrillation can also happen due to a pre-existing cardiac condition. These conditions are discussed below:

i. Pericarditis

It is the inflammation of the pericardium, which is a serous membrane with two layers that surrounds the heart. It has been noted encouraging afib.


ii. Coronary Heart Disease

It develops because of the fat deposits inside the arterial blood vessel. These deposits of fats narrow down the arteries to block them.

iii. Heart Valve Disease

This disease can be in your inheritance. However, it can also develop because of an infection. This condition is also found promoting afib.

Atrial Fibrillation Treatment


All the plans for atrial fibrillation treatment target to achieve three primary goals: slowing down the rate of heart beating, making the rhythm of heart normal, and lastly, preventing the likelihood of a stroke.

When it comes to slowing down the heart rate, healthcare authorities usually issue oral medicines along with the recommendation of IV transfusions. In-vain transfusions are mostly preferred if the case is severe. Oral medications may work if they won’t. As far as managing the normal heart rhythm is concerned, watchful attention is served to the severity of the case of the person. Prescription of medication may not be necessary. Mostly, blood diluting medicines like aspirin, warfarin, or heparin are used, if the patient already has a medical condition that may upsurge the probabilities of a stroke, particularly when atrial fibrillation is experienced.    
  

No comments:

Post a Comment