Key Facts
- Your heart may feel quivery or fluttery and AFib may put you at risk for several serious conditions including blood clots, stroke and heart attack
- Fortunately, AFib is easy to treat and solve with medications, and is also essentially curable with catheter/surgical intervention
What Causes AFib?
- Age
- Hypertension
- Other Heart Conditions
- Heart Surgery
- Heart Attack
- Lung Disease
- Stimulants
- Drinking Alcohol
- Overactive Thyroid
- Obesity and Diabetes
Signs & Symptoms
- Sometimes people with AFib have no symptoms and their condition is only detectable upon physical examination. Other people may experience one or more of the following symptoms:
- General fatigue
- Rapid and irregular heartbeat
- Fluttering or “thumping” in the chest
- Dizziness
- Shortness of breath and anxiety
- Weakness
- Faintness or confusion
- Fatigue when exercising
- Sweating
Managing AFib
- Getting your heart back to its normal health and rate can help you prevent blood clots and decrease your risk of stroke. There are a variety of medications to help control your heart rate during AFib. Beta blockers and calcium channel blockers are used to slower the heart rate and improve symptoms.
- Restoring the heart to a normal rhythm
- Reduce an overly high heart rate
- Prevent additional heart rhythm problems
- Prevent heart failure
Questions to Ask Your Doctor
- Do I need to take blood-thinning medications?
- Do I need to take medicines to control my heart rhythm?
- What should I expect my medicines to do?
- What happens if I miss a dose of my medicine?
- What side effects might my medication cause?
- How will my AFib medicine interact with medicines I’m taking for other conditions?
- Will I need a medical procedure to treat my AFib?
- Will I need a pacemaker to control my heart rhythm?
- What are the possible risks and side effects of the procedure I’m having?
- What lifestyle changes can I make to help control my condition?
- What changes do I need to make to my diet? Which foods can I eat? Which foods should I avoid?
- Do I need to lose weight? If so, how much weight should I lose?
- Do I need to avoid caffeine and alcohol?
- Can I exercise? If so, what types of exercise should I do, and for how long should I do them?
- Should I monitor my blood pressure and cholesterol levels? If so, how often should I have them checked?
- For what symptoms should I call you?