What Are the Dangers of Atrial Fibrillation?

Atrial fibrillation is an irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia) that affects blood flow in both the upper and lower chambers of your heart. The root cause is an electrical problem in your heart's atria (the upper chambers) that causes them to beat erratically and become out of sequence with the ventricles (lower chambers).

At Northwest Houston Heart Center, Dr. Adnan Aslam and Dr. Roy Norman diagnose and treat atrial fibrillation (Afib) at their offices in and around Houston, Texas. Because many people aren’t familiar with the condition, they’re taking this opportunity to explain what Afib is and why it’s a dangerous condition.

More about Afib

A normal heart sends out a steady, regular pattern of electrical impulses to coordinate the beating of the chambers. If the electrical system doesn’t work as it should, you may get many different impulses firing rapidly at the same time.

This leads to a fast, chaotic rhythm in your atria, and, as a result, they can’t contract or pump blood into the ventricles efficiently. Your ventricles, which respond to your atria, also begin to contract irregularly, causing a rapid, irregular heartbeat. Your ventricles may receive 140 to 160 signals per minute instead of the usual 60 to 100.

A good analogy for Afib is to imagine many conductors directing an orchestra instead of just one. The musicians wouldn’t know what to do or who to follow, and the music would lose its rhythm.

Afib can lead to a stroke and other serious medical issues like heart failure. That’s why it’s important to learn about the symptoms and your personal risk factors.

Fortunately, there are a number of ways to bring your heart’s rhythm back to normal if you have Afib.

What causes Afib?

Damage to your heart’s tissue and its electrical system causes atrial fibrillation. Conditions such as coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, and heart failure can cause such damage. Other causes include problems with the heart valves, hyperthyroidism, or excessive alcohol use. Sometimes, though, there’s no apparent cause.

Afib is more common in people of European descent, but African Americans with Afib are more likely to have serious complications like stroke or heart failure. Women receive a diagnosis more often than men, and the condition often runs in families. It’s also more common the older you get, especially if you have high blood pressure, which causes 1 in 5 cases of Afib.

The dangers of atrial fibrillation

Blood clots are a dangerous complication of Afib, as uncoordinated pumping can lead to congested blood flow, congested flow can lead to clots, and clots can lead to stroke.

The risk of stroke caused by Afib increases as you grow older, as well as from:

• High blood pressure
• Diabetes
• Heart failure
• Some types of heart valve disease

Blood thinners are generally prescribed to prevent blood clots and strokes in people with Afib.

If you or a loved one has Afib, it’s important to know the signs of a stroke, as every minute counts when seeking treatment.

Signs include sudden numbness or weakness on one side of your body, mental confusion, difficulty speaking or understanding others, difficulty seeing from one or both of your eyes, difficulty walking, and dizziness and/or a sudden headache that shows up for no apparent reason.

If you feel your heart “skipping” a beat more often than not, you have some form of an arrhythmia that may be atrial fibrillation, and you need to seek medical attention. Northwest Houston Heart Center can help.

To get started today, give us a call at one of our locations — The Woodlands, Magnolia, Cypress, or Tomball, Texas — text us at 832-402-9518, or book online.