PLEASE Tell me about Atrial Fibrillation

Grammy,

Hello there and let me see if I can help you.  I have known many people with this heart condition.

During atrial fibrillation, the heart's two upper chambers (the atria) beat chaotically and irregularly — out of coordination with the two lower chambers (the ventricles) of the heart. Some people with atrial fibrillation have no symptoms and are unaware of their condition until it's discovered during a physical examination.

Abnormalities or damages to the heart's structure are the most common cause of atrial fibrillation.

The treatment option best for you will depend on how long you've had atrial fibrillation, how bothersome your symptoms are and the underlying cause of your atrial fibrillation. Generally, the goals of treating atrial fibrillation are to reset the rhythm or control the rate and prevent blood clots.

President George Bush had atrial fibrillation.  While jogging at Camp David on a Saturday afternoon (May 4, 1991), Bush developed shortness of breath, chest tightness, and a general feeling of fatigue. A White House physician discovered Bush had a rapid irregular heartbeat, ultimately diagnosed as atrial fibrillation due to hyperthyroidism. REference: ^{Mayo Clinc Staff}

Would you like to share your story and treatment plan here. Also ask any specific questions you may have.

Please do remember I am not a Doctor

 

I also have slight a-fib, and have since the age of 28, and really the only time that I have problems with it is when I have been throwing up alot. I am usually aware that I have it, and usually if I go to bed and sleep it will go back into reg. heart beat.
My second brother has had much more trouble with his, and has to take daily medication for his, and has had a couple of hospitalizations. But his is more due to marphram's (sp?) syndrome that tall people get.  The medication has really helped him!!!!  So please know that people have been successfully treated for this and go on to live normal lives.

I was looking through websites recommended by Consumer Reports as reliable and found www.uptodate.com/patients.  There's a fairly complete article at:
http://www.uptodate.com/patients/content/topic.do?topicKey=~Ac5NyvklRXhTI
If you can't get to it directly go to the first website and then find Contents,  Patient Information,  Heart disease.  I found info popups under the search box: heart disease.

Then I went down to Atrial Fibrillation and also to Cardioconversion. 

Patient-level articles are free to read.  I found them reasonably technical and in depth for the average forum poster.

My mom has a-fibs as well and she went through a tough time until finally she was diagnosed. It took a while to stabalize her on medication that worked for her. She's on a handful because she had extremely high blood pressure. The specialist said that she has a good heart, it was just going too fast. Now she is on meds that slow her heart down and her atrial fibs seem to be under control with the medication they are giving her.