How to Manage Atrial Fibrillation
According to statistics, there are about 2.2 million U.S citizens who have atrial fibrillation. This is a heart condition characterized by an irregular beating of the atrial chambers of the heart. The rapid beating occurs when the atria fails to function properly and can result into variety of complications such as stroke. There’s no cure for this condition but there are several ways to manage this and control irregular beating of the heart. Patients can manage this through medication, electrical cardioversion or by means of surgical ablation.
People with afib usually rely on prescription drugs first. They manage their heart condition with medications that slow down their heart rate that is mixed with a blood thinner so as to decrease the risk of stroke. If the first kind of medication doesn’t work that’s the only time they can resort to a prescription drug that helps restoring their normal heart rate. These three kinds of medications help in managing afib but there are some patients who are more successful in taking electric shocks to their heart or most popularly known as electrical cardioversion before taking the controlled drugs.
Those with serious cases of afib are encouraged to undergo this process right away to restore their regular hear rate. There are also some who resort to this but only when the medications are no longer working for them. This is considered to be effective in putting their hearts back in normal sinus rhythm but surprisingly this is not enough to make their heart rate stable. They may need to take multiple tries of electrical cardioversion before their heart rate returns to normal but eventually it will beat irregularly again. It is safe to say that this process is not enough to cure afib.
Some studies show that electrical cardioversion has a 90% success rate but after sometime people experience signs of atrial fibrillation again. The success of managing this heart condition depends on the kind of medication they take, the size of their left atrium and the span of time they have this condition.
It sounds likes it’s quite a challenge to manage afib. But with the proper information and by following the recommendations of their physicians, they can manage this. But they should still monitor their condition because there is a high possibility that they would revert to afib. People with this condition should just take all the needed medications like anticoagulants and even antiarrhythmic drugs, and try all their options. With continuous medication intake and taking electric shocks to their hearts, they will most likely maintain this condition and prevent other complications such as stroke.
People suffering from afib are more prone to stroke about five times than those without the said condition. This only gives them a bit of a sense of urgency to do something about their condition as soon as possible so as to avoid any further complications. They are given with variety of options to manage atrial fibrillation and even if the likelihood of reverting to this condition is high, at least they’ve done something to control the make their heart rate normal.
Managing atrial fibrillation is not that difficult for as long as you know your options. Visit our website to find out how you can control your heart rate, prevent complications and take care of your overall senior health.
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