About
Atrial Fibrillation
Atrial fibrillation (often abbreviated to “AF”) is a very common heart rhythm disturbance, affecting over a million people in the UK. About two thirds of patients have symptoms associated with this, including palpitations, dizziness, breathlessness, and fatigue; the remainder feel well and atrial fibrillation is a coincidental finding.
Atrial fibrillation results from loss of the normal organised distribution of electrical activity through the heart; instead, there is chaotic electrical activity within the atria, the two upper collecting chambers of the heart.
Atrial fibrillation may be:
| Paroxysmal | lasting from 30 minutes up to 7 days |
| Persistent | lasting more than 7 days |
| Longstanding persistent | lasting more than a year, or |
| Permanent | accepted as the patient’s rhythm for the long term |
Over time episodes of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation typically become more frequent and protracted, and may ultimately become permanent. AF is often associated with other conditions such as high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, sleep apnoea, obesity, and heart muscle and valve disease but occasionally it occurs in isolation, known as lone atrial fibrillation. Any coexisting conditions of course need investigation and treatment in their own right.
In patients who are diagnosed in the outpatient setting and who are not suffering any overt ill-effects from the change in rhythm, the aims of treatment are to slow the heart rate if necessary (since the heart rate in atrial fibrillation can be considerably higher than normal), to consider whether or not to attempt to restore sinus rhythm, and to determine who should be offered medication for stroke prevention.
See our page on Medical Therapy in Atrial Fibrillation for further information.
Contact us
Get in touch
Booking an appointment couldn’t be simpler. You can book a consultation either on the phone or via email.