Atrial Fibrillation

1. Atrial Fibrillation Slideshow Pictures
2. Take the Atrial Fibrillation Quiz!
3. Heart Disease Slideshow Pictures

Medical Author:

Daniel Lee Kulick, MD, FACC, FSCAI

Daniel Lee Kulick, MD, FACC, FSCAI

Dr. Kulick received his undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Southern California, School of Medicine. He performed his residency in internal medicine at the Harbor-University of California Los Angeles Medical Center and a fellowship in the section of cardiology at the Los Angeles County-University of Southern California Medical Center. He is board certified in Internal Medicine and Cardiology.

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Medical Editor:

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Dr. Charles "Pat" Davis, MD, PhD, is a board certified Emergency Medicine doctor who currently practices as a consultant and staff member for hospitals. He has a PhD in Microbiology (UT at Austin), and the MD (Univ. Texas Medical Branch, Galveston). He is a Clinical Professor (retired) in the Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and has been the Chief of Emergency Medicine at UT Medical Branch and at UTHSCSA with over 250 publications.

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• Atrial fibrillation is an abnormal rhythm of the heart.
• Atrial fibrillation is caused by abnormal electrical discharges within the atria.
• Atrial fibrillation reduces the ability of the atria to pump blood into the ventricles and usually causes the heart to beat too rapidly.
• Symptoms of atrial fibrillation include palpitations, dizziness, fainting, weakness, fatigue, shortness of breath, and chest pain although some people have no symptoms.
• Complications of atrial fibrillation include heart failure and stroke.
• Atrial fibrillation can be diagnosed by physical examination, electrocardiogram, Holter monitor, or patient-activated event recorder.
• Treatment of atrial fibrillation is directed toward controlling underlying causes, slowing the heart rate and/or converting the heart to normal rhythm, and stroke prevention using blood-thinning medications.
• Medications are commonly used in the longer term to control or prevent recurrence of atrial fibrillation, but medications may not be effective and may have intolerable side effects.
• Electrical cardioversion is successful in over 95% of patients with atrial fibrillation, but 75% of patients have a recurrence of atrial fibrillation within 1 to 2 years.
• Some doctors may leave patients in atrial fibrillation for the longer term provided the heart rate is under control, blood flow is adequate, and blood is adequately thinned with medications.
• Non-medication treatments of atrial fibrillation include pacemakers, AV node ablation, atrial defibrillators, and the Maze procedure.
• Pulmonary vein isolation shows promise for the treatment of atrial fibrillation and has a high rate of success; however, longer-term experience is necessary.