Omron Complete - What is Atrial Fibrillation

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2. What is Atrial Fibrillation?
The most common type of non‐sinus tachyarrhythmia is atrial brillation. In atrial brillation,
disorganized electrical impulses that originate in the atria and pulmonary veins initiate the electrical
activity in the conduction system of the heart. This causes what are commonly termed as “irregularly
irregular” heart beats.
When a heart is in atrial brillation, its two upper chambers, the right and left atria, essentially quiver
instead of beating eciently. This does not allow for complete emptying of the atria and thus blood
may become stagnant and create blood clots. This can lead to major health problems, including
strokes, transient ischemic attacks (TIAs), and pulmonary emboli (PEs); depending which chamber of
the heart has the blood clot in it.
Approximately 15 percent of strokes occur in people with atrial brillation. As age increases in a
population, so too does the incidence of atrial brillation, which peaks at about 3‐5% in people over
the age of 65.
The most common presenting symptoms of atrial brillation are palpitations, dizziness, fast heart rate,
irregularly irregular rhythm, an abnormal heart sound (S1), chest pain, chronic shortness of breath,
abnormal jugular venous pressure, fatigue, and impaired exercise tolerance. Other symptoms related
to TIAs and strokes may be the initial symptoms of atrial brillation.
Some of the most common causes of atrial brillation are long‐standing hypertension, congestive
heart disease, cardiac valvular lesions, myocardial infarctions, history of coronary artery bypass grafts,
hyperthyroidism, alcohol abuse, smoking, diabetes mellitus, and electrolyte imbalances.