Have you ever felt like your heart is banging against your chest for no reason? Or that it might just give up any second while you are completing the simplest of tasks? It is probably not exhaustion or lack of exercise, but something much more than that. This phenomenon is called Atrial fibrillation (also called AFib or AF). Atrial fibrillation is a quivering or irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia) that can lead to blood clots, stroke, heart failure and other heart-related complications. At least 2.7 million Americans are living with AFib. About 15–20 percent of people who have strokes have a heart arrhythmia and require proper Afib treatment. Usually, patients with this condition are put on blood thinners. Undiagnosed and/or untreated AFib doubles the risk of heart-related deaths and is associated with an increased risk of stroke but many patients are unaware that AFib is a serious condition because of lack of awareness.
Before understanding the Afib treatment options, let us first understand what happens during Atrial Fibrillation. Normally, the heart contracts and expands to a regular beat. In atrial fibrillation, the upper chambers and lower of the heart beat irregularly, thus failing to move blood effectively into the ventricles. This gives rise to blood clots, which may flow to other parts of the body with blood flow and cause blockages in the blood flow. Atrial Fibrillation has no known symptoms. It may be detected by a physical examination. Common symptoms include dizziness, weakness, chest pains, inability to breathe, palpitations and fatigue. Atrial fibrillation may be occasional, persistent or permanent, depending on the duration of symptoms.Make sure you get the Afib treatment if you notice any of these symptoms.
There are multiple AFib treatments that can help a patient. The kind of treatment to be chosen will depend mainly on the duration you have had the disease, its intensity and the cause of your AFib. It will also take into account any other heart problems you may have and if medication used to treat heart rhythm will suit you. In some cases, surgery may also be required. The aim of the Afib treatments is to reset the heart rate and rhythm.
Cardio version
Sometimes, doctors use a process known as Cardioversion to reset heart rate and rhythm.Before cardioversion, you may be given a blood-thinning medication for several weeks to reduce the risk of blood clots and stroke. You may also need to take these blood-thinning medicine for at least four weeks after cardioversion to prevent a blood clot from forming even after your heart is back to normal. A transesophageal echocardiography may also be conducted to detect any blood clots in the heart just before cardioversion. Cardioversion can be conducted in two ways:
Electrical cardio version
This is achieved with electrical shock therapy to the heart, delivered in the form of patches or paddles placed on your chest. The electric shock waves stop the heart activity momentarily before resuming again. The logic is that the heart will stop and eventually start beating normally. The procedure is carried out under sedation so that the patient may not feel electric pulses surging through his body.
Cardioversion with drugs
This form of cardioversion uses anti-arrhythmic medication to restore normal sinus rhythm. The doctor may prescribe intravenous or oral medication to return the heart to normal rhythm depending on the condition of heart and duration they have had AFib. Post the cardioversion, the doctor may prescribe blood-thinning medicines to keep the AFib under control. There is, however, no guarantee that the medicines may be effective and there is no relapse.
Heart rate control
Sometimes, all you may need is a balance in the heart rate, and the heart starts beating normally. Usually, doctors may prescribe a set of medicines along with calcium channel blockers and beta blockers. Beta-blockers however, may lower the heart rate to the point of low blood pressure. Calcium blockers also have their own side effects and their usage may have to be monitored by your doctor.
Catheter and surgical procedures
The earlier methods may sometimes not work, in which case, you may need to undergo a surgery. There are different ways by which this can be done:
Catheter ablation
In this method, long, thin rods are inserted through a person’s groin and then guided through the blood vessels towards the heart. The catheter tips have an electrode that use radiofrequency energy to find and target spots that are responsible for irregular heartbeats.
Surgical maze procedure
This is usually an open heart surgery. Your doctor will create a series of incisions on the tissues in the heart superficially to create a sort of a roadmap for stray electrical impulses. This helps route the irregular pulses in the right direction, stabilizing the heart and regulating rhythm. Since this is an open heart surgery, it is usually a last resort when all other methods fail.
Atrioventricular node ablation
Radiofrequency energy is applied to the pathway connecting the atria and ventricles of your heart (AV node) through a catheter. This destroys a small area of tissue, which prevents the atria from sending faulty electrical impulses to the ventricles.
Thus you can opt for the cardioversion or Heart rate control or any of the catheter and surgical procedures as the suitable Afib treatment suggested by your doctor.
