Nearly 3 million Americans are living with a heart condition called atrial fibrillation, according to the American Heart Association.
But what is atrial fibrillation and how do you fix it?
A normal heart rhythm should beat like a steady drum. Atrial fibrillation is like a chaotic drumbeat.
“What you’re having is, you’re having heartbeats that are going sooner or shorter — bum-bum — or longer — bum-bum-bum, bum. And what that’s doing is it’s altering the ability of your heart to fill and your heart to pump blood effectively,” says Dr. Christopher DeSimone, a Mayo Clinic cardiologist.
That can put patients at greater risk of blood clots, heart failure and stroke.
There are many causes, such as high blood pressure, diabetes or even sleep apnea. Often patients are unaware they have atrial fibrillation.
Treatment is individualized for each patient and may include medication; administering an electrical shock to the heart; or a procedure called catheter ablation, which scars the heart tissue that’s creating the erratic signals.
