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Atrial fibrillation
You are not alone
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is common
· More than 2.5 million people in the US and 6 million in the EU are affected by
this condition
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· AF is especially common in older people, affecting nearly 10% of people over
80 years of age
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What is AF?
· AF occurs when the electrical impulses which control the heartbeat become
disorganised
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· This causes the upper chambers of your heart (the atria) to contract rapidly and
irregularly
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· As a result, your heart will not pump blood around the body as effectively as it
should do
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· AF can occur in short episodes or can be permanent
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What are the symptoms of AF
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?
· An irregular heartbeat
· Dizziness
· Tiredness
· Breathlessness
· Chest pain
What are the treatment options for AF
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?
· Medications to normalize the heart rhythm
· Cardioversion (electric pulse to try to restore a normal rhythm)
· Catheter ablation (radiowaves applied to the diseased tissue of the heart)
· Pacemaker device fitted to control the heart rhythm
If you have AF, then you have an increased risk of stroke
· If you have been diagnosed with AF, you are up to five times more likely to have
a stroke than people who do not have AF
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· Furthermore, people with AF tend to have more severe strokes than people
without AF
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What causes a stroke in AF?
· If you have AF, blood tends to travel more slowly through your heart
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· This slow-moving blood can pool in the heart and start to form clots
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· Clots can then leave the heart and can travel to the brain
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· If a clot prevents fresh blood from reaching a certain area of the brain, brain
cells will eventually start to die, causing a stroke
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How can the risk be reduced?
· Taking an oral anticoagulant will significantly reduce your risk of stroke
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· Warfarin is the most widely used oral anticoagulant for the prevention of stroke
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· With your doctor you can decide what is the best treatment option for you
Warfarin
reduces your
risk of stroke
Fig 2: Warfarin reduces the risk of stroke in AF
(Adapted from Hart et al, 2007)
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Percentage of AF patients who have a stroke each year
Warfarin
2.2%
No treatment
6%
Fig 1 (above): Electrocardiogram tracing of a normal
heart rhythm.
(below): In atrial brillation, the tracing shows tiny,
irregular «brillation» waves between heartbeats.
e rhythm is irregular and erratic.