What Causes Atrial Fibrillation? What Are Its Symptoms?
Atrial fibrillation refers to irregularity in heart beat as a result of disorderly travel of the heat’s electrical impulse through its atriums (upper chambers or passageways). The condition which increases with aging has been found in over two millions of Americans. Instead of orderly traveling through atriums most of the impulses
Signs of Atrial Fibrillation
Some people with Atrial Fibrillation do not have any apparent symptom at all. Usually Atrial Fibrillation leads to heart palpitations making the affected person feeling a sudden chest fluttering or racing.
The affected person also feels loss of energy and extremely tired besides. Atrial Fibrillation also makes the patient feel dizziness besides causing discomfort in his chest. The patient also feels it difficult to breathe either while engaging in normal activities or taking rest.
Causes Of Atrial Fibrillation
Atrial fibrillation mostly occurs in association with high blood pressure, defective heart valve or several other conditions like coronary artery disease. A person having chronic lung disease is also susceptible to develop Atrial Fibrillation. Atrial Fibrillation may also occur as post-operative complication in a patient undergoing heart surgery.
Sometimes heart failure or cardiomyopathy (condition of heart muscle causing failure of heart) is also being associated with Atrial Fibrillation. A person with congenital heart disease is also likely to develop Atrial Fibrillation. Pulmonary embolism, a condition occurring with blood clotting in lungs may also lead to Atrial Fibrillation.
Hyperthyroidism, a condition occurring as a result of excess production of thyroid hormones is considered as rare cause of Atrial Fibrillation. Even Pericarditis, which occurs with inflamed lines outside heart and viral infection also rarely lead to Atrial Fibrillation.
About ten percent Atrial Fibrillation patients do not have any underlying heart disease. They are mostly found to have developed this condition because of too much of alcohol or caffeine consumption or stress. Specific drugs, infections and imbalance in metabolism may also be the causative factors behind development of Atrial Fibrillation in such persons. In other persons with Atrial Fibrillation, the cause is not identified. Person over 60 years of age are at the higher risk of developing Atrial Fibrillation.
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