Atrial fibrillation is a sort of literal ticking time bomb in your chest. It’s a rapid and irregular heartbeat that can significantly increase your chances of acquiring heart-related complications such as strokes, heart failure etc.

The upper chambers of the heart, the atria, beat irregularly and often chaotically, completely out of tune from the lower chambers, the ventricles. This life-threatening condition has symptoms ranging from difficulty breathing to heart palpitations and weakness.

Atrial fibrillation can cause a lot of anxiety and stress in your daily life. Quick diagnosis and treatment are of utmost importance. You might have episodes where you experience atrial fibrillation. In some cases, the condition never goes away completely, and you may need immediate treatment. Although the condition itself isn’t that bad initially, the potential complications it can cause can be life threatening.

Problems Caused by Atrial Fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation can cause ischemia. This is a condition when blood clots form in the heart and as it pumps blood to the rest of your body, the clots create blocks in the blood flow to the major organs, leading to more complications. It can also cause heart failure and strokes.

What are the Symptoms of Atrial Fibrillation?

While atrial fibrillation comes with a series of easily identifiable symptoms, some people remain healthy and don’t experience any symptoms until the condition itself is revealed in a medical exam. Atrial fibrillations can potentially cause different symptoms ranging from mild to severe.

They are:

• Weakness
• Heart palpitations (the sensation of irregular, uncomfortable, rapid heartbeats, sort of like a flip-flopping in your chest.)
• Deteriorating ability to do high-intensity exercises.
• Lightheadedness
• Confusion
• Dizziness
• Fatigue
• Chest pains
• Difficulty breathing

These symptoms can occur regularly or on occasion

If you just experience atrial fibrillations occasionally, it’s known as paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. This means that you might be experiencing symptoms in bursts. Your symptoms come and go, and they stop on their own time.

Persistent atrial fibrillation means that your heart rhythm won’t return to normal by itself. Treatments for persistent atrial fibrillation include medications to control it and electric shock. The treatment depends on your specific condition and varies from person to person.

Persistent atrial fibrillations last longer than 12 months. You’ll need medical help immediately if this happens.

When treatment can’t restore the preexisting abnormality in the heart rhythm, this is known as permanent atrial fibrillation. This also means that you’ll have to live with this condition permanently. Although you can’t fix the condition, there are, however, a few medications that you can use to control the speed in which your heart beats.

Contact Our Office for a Diagnosis

If you have been experiencing any of the above-mentioned symptoms, you should make an appointment with a qualified medical professional immediately. Contact our office to schedule a consultation with Dr. Shezhad Sami today. In order to properly diagnose you, a series of tests including an electrocardiogram will be performed to find out whether it’s actually atrial fibrillation or arrhythmia. If you experience chest pain, find help as soon as possible.