Atrial fibrillation: symptoms and treatment, causes
In the normal state with cardiac strokes, at first contraction of the atria, and then ventricles.
It is this alternation that guarantees the normal and smooth operation of the heart muscle. But sometimes it happens that the heart is straying from its rhythm, then it will die, then it will clog again.
At atrial fibrillation there is no such phase as atrial contraction. The muscle fibers lose the ability to work simultaneously. This condition doctors call ciliary arrhythmia, when the contractions of the heart become irregular and unstable.
Based on medical research, atrial fibrillation or atrial fibrillation is the most popular form of tachyarrhythmia. Approximately in 30% of cases among all disorders of the cardiac rhythm is revealed precisely atrial fibrillation.
Disease is more common in older people. If up to 60 years, the disease is found in about one hundredth person, then after 60 years, the incidence rate increases to 6%.More than half of the patients are people over 70 years old. More than 6 million people in Europe and over 5 million people in the United States suffer from the disease.
Atrial fibrillation is a disease in which the rhythm of the heartbeat is disturbed, resulting from a chaotic contraction of the fibers of the heart muscle. These twitchings of the convulsive nature of the atrial muscles provoke an increase in the frequency of contractions of the heart. The number of heartbeats per minute can reach up to 500-600.The heart seems to go crazy, for good reason, MA is also called "heartfelt madness."
Prolonged attack of atrial fibrillation is dangerous consequences: stroke and the appearance of blood clots. With a long course of the disease, serious circulatory problems arise.
What causes the development of atrial fibrillation, and what is it? The appearance of the disease is possible because of any heart disease and blood vessels, as well as other body systems. In young people, the causes of the disease are various vices from birth.
Elderly patients with atrial fibrillation often suffer from the following diseases:
Read also, the classification of cardiac arrhythmia.
Often one can learn about the appearance of the disease himself, because there is a violation of the heart rate. At the same time, the uneven rhythm of the heart is easily felt. However, sometimes the patient does not know about the disease, and it is detected only with the help of an electrocardiogram or because of the onset of complications.
Symptoms of atrial fibrillation are different depending on the type of disease - paroxysmal or persistent, and also depending on the form of the disease - bradisystolic, normosystolic or tachysystolic. In addition, manifestations of atrial fibrillation depend on the general condition of the body and the cardiovascular system.
The most pronounced symptoms are tachysystolic arrhythmia. In this case, the patient feels shortness of breath, pain in the heart, frequent urination, trembling in the body and weakness, tachycardia, incomprehensible whence there are feelings of panic, fear of death, fainting and dizziness. In the method of auscultation of the patient there is a discrepancy between the number of contractions and pulse waves.
Sometimes the disease occurs in the form of an attack, and it appears with a certain periodicity. Sometimes, on the contrary, atrial fibrillation manifests itself without further repetition. Some situations suggest the appearance of a chronic form of atrial fibrillation, the symptomatology of this disease is not clearly expressed. This provokes the fact that the patients do not complain about anything.
See also, symptoms and treatment of sinus arrhythmia.
The earlier you manage to diagnose the disease, the better. To begin with, you can conduct an independent diagnosis. Listen, if the heart does not die for a while, do not feel the so-called interruptions in the heartbeat, there is no coma, rolling up to the throat.
It's good to constantly measure the number of heartbeats and your pulse. You can feel the pulse wave by putting your finger to your neck, or by embracing your wrist with your fingers. If there is an uneven rhythm, then, most likely, the disease takes place.
The doctor will be able to determine atrial fibrillation or to refute this disease with the help of ECG or Holter ECG monitoring. There are also laboratory tests, such as general and clinical analysis of blood, blood biochemistry for hormones, electrolyte indices.
Atrial fibrillation, 2 types of treatment are recommended:
The treatment strategy is as follows:
Patients with atrial fibrillation should follow a diet with a high fluid content. Drink grape and cranberry juice, eat cucumbers, watermelons, make green and herbal tea. Natural taurine - a substance that helps to thin the blood, is found in seafood, walnuts and almonds. Eat at least 1 tablespoon of nuts a day.
Drugs used in the treatment of arrhythmia are novocainamid.panangin, aymalin, are administered intravenously. Such a drug as quinidine cardiologists is prescribed most often, it is effective in 70% of AI cases.
Means of folk treatment will help alleviate the symptoms of atrial fibrillation, help patients to tolerate the disease more easily.
For preventive purposes, preventive measures should be taken regarding arterial hypertension and heart failure. When a paroxysmal attack is transferred, it is recommended to refuse significant physical exertion, to reduce alcohol consumption and to take regular preventive medications.
Regarding the diet, you should eat more food containing magnesium and potassium. These are cucumbers, bananas, nuts, watermelons, melons, oatmeal, sea kale, peas. It is useful to eat buckwheat and barley, as well as beans. Fight with stress: you can not be nervous and rework! For prevention, you can use soothing drugs on herbs, for example, such medications as relaxin, sedasen or valerian.
It is important to donate blood for sugar every year to prevent the onset of diabetes. Also pass thyroid ultrasound, problems with it too can become the key to the development of atrial fibrillation.
Since AI is often a consequence of stroke, heart failure, and other heart diseases, constant prevention is important.
The optimal rhythm of the heart is restored due to antiarrhythmic drugs. The doctor selects therapy based on the patient's health, the presence of other pathologies, the presence of medication. Thus, preventive measures can prevent further attacks of atrial fibrillation.
Because of the disease, heart failure and the appearance of blood clots may occur. Thromboembolism, in particular, which is complicated by significant atrial activity, can lead to ischemic stroke.
Possible complications such as cardiac arrest and death. Significant danger of this disease is for patients with diabetes, high blood pressure, as well as people who have suffered thromboembolism.
Another of the complications is heart failure. She often appears in patients with vices. Sometimes arrhythmogenic shock occurs. All these dangerous conditions for people can lead to death. Observing the prescription of the doctor, you will be cured of atrial fibrillation!
It is this alternation that guarantees the normal and smooth operation of the heart muscle. But sometimes it happens that the heart is straying from its rhythm, then it will die, then it will clog again.
At atrial fibrillation there is no such phase as atrial contraction. The muscle fibers lose the ability to work simultaneously. This condition doctors call ciliary arrhythmia, when the contractions of the heart become irregular and unstable.
Based on medical research, atrial fibrillation or atrial fibrillation is the most popular form of tachyarrhythmia. Approximately in 30% of cases among all disorders of the cardiac rhythm is revealed precisely atrial fibrillation.
Disease is more common in older people. If up to 60 years, the disease is found in about one hundredth person, then after 60 years, the incidence rate increases to 6%.More than half of the patients are people over 70 years old. More than 6 million people in Europe and over 5 million people in the United States suffer from the disease.
Atrial fibrillation is a disease in which the rhythm of the heartbeat is disturbed, resulting from a chaotic contraction of the fibers of the heart muscle. These twitchings of the convulsive nature of the atrial muscles provoke an increase in the frequency of contractions of the heart. The number of heartbeats per minute can reach up to 500-600.The heart seems to go crazy, for good reason, MA is also called "heartfelt madness."
Prolonged attack of atrial fibrillation is dangerous consequences: stroke and the appearance of blood clots. With a long course of the disease, serious circulatory problems arise.
Causes of atrial fibrillation
What causes the development of atrial fibrillation, and what is it? The appearance of the disease is possible because of any heart disease and blood vessels, as well as other body systems. In young people, the causes of the disease are various vices from birth.
Elderly patients with atrial fibrillation often suffer from the following diseases:
- cardiosclerosis;
- myocardial infarction;
- heart failure in chronic form;
- inflammation of the heart muscle;
- ischemia;
- rheumatism of the heart;
- chronic hypertension.
- alcohol abuse and substance use;
- thyroid disease;
- diabetes;
- alcoholism;
- various hormonal disorders;
- regular stress;
- excessive use of drugs with a diuretic effect;
- lack of potassium in the body due to food poisoning.
Read also, the classification of cardiac arrhythmia.
Symptoms of atrial fibrillation
Often one can learn about the appearance of the disease himself, because there is a violation of the heart rate. At the same time, the uneven rhythm of the heart is easily felt. However, sometimes the patient does not know about the disease, and it is detected only with the help of an electrocardiogram or because of the onset of complications.
Symptoms of atrial fibrillation are different depending on the type of disease - paroxysmal or persistent, and also depending on the form of the disease - bradisystolic, normosystolic or tachysystolic. In addition, manifestations of atrial fibrillation depend on the general condition of the body and the cardiovascular system.
The most pronounced symptoms are tachysystolic arrhythmia. In this case, the patient feels shortness of breath, pain in the heart, frequent urination, trembling in the body and weakness, tachycardia, incomprehensible whence there are feelings of panic, fear of death, fainting and dizziness. In the method of auscultation of the patient there is a discrepancy between the number of contractions and pulse waves.
Sometimes the disease occurs in the form of an attack, and it appears with a certain periodicity. Sometimes, on the contrary, atrial fibrillation manifests itself without further repetition. Some situations suggest the appearance of a chronic form of atrial fibrillation, the symptomatology of this disease is not clearly expressed. This provokes the fact that the patients do not complain about anything.
See also, symptoms and treatment of sinus arrhythmia.
Treatment of atrial fibrillation
The earlier you manage to diagnose the disease, the better. To begin with, you can conduct an independent diagnosis. Listen, if the heart does not die for a while, do not feel the so-called interruptions in the heartbeat, there is no coma, rolling up to the throat.
It's good to constantly measure the number of heartbeats and your pulse. You can feel the pulse wave by putting your finger to your neck, or by embracing your wrist with your fingers. If there is an uneven rhythm, then, most likely, the disease takes place.
The doctor will be able to determine atrial fibrillation or to refute this disease with the help of ECG or Holter ECG monitoring. There are also laboratory tests, such as general and clinical analysis of blood, blood biochemistry for hormones, electrolyte indices.
Atrial fibrillation, 2 types of treatment are recommended:
- 1) The reception of antiarrhythmic drugs in combination with antiarrhythmic cardioversion with further prevention of disease recurrence.
- 2) Anticoagulant and anti-aggregation therapy of arrhythmia and heart rate control.
The treatment strategy is as follows:
- taking medications that normalize the rhythm of the heart. Sotalol, propanorm and others stop the attack.
- medications that help control the number of heartbeats. If the attacks of arrhythmia are constantly repeated, the sinus rhythm can not be normalized.use beta-adrenoblockers, verapamil, sometimes use glycosides.
- treatment is antithrombotic. Since atrial fibrillation may be accompanied by vascular diseases - strokes, heart attacks and others, use drugs that dilute the blood. This is a sell, warfarin and others.
Patients with atrial fibrillation should follow a diet with a high fluid content. Drink grape and cranberry juice, eat cucumbers, watermelons, make green and herbal tea. Natural taurine - a substance that helps to thin the blood, is found in seafood, walnuts and almonds. Eat at least 1 tablespoon of nuts a day.
Drugs used in the treatment of arrhythmia are novocainamid.panangin, aymalin, are administered intravenously. Such a drug as quinidine cardiologists is prescribed most often, it is effective in 70% of AI cases.
Means of folk treatment will help alleviate the symptoms of atrial fibrillation, help patients to tolerate the disease more easily.
- 1) Prepare from the seeds of dill infusion or decoction. A mixture of a third of a glass of dill and a glass of boiling water is prepared. All this is brought to a boil, after which it is left to cool. A saucepan with contents can be covered with a warm towel. The resulting tincture should be filtered from the seeds, use 1/3 cup 3 times daily before meals.
- 2) Yarrow, collected independently or bought in a pharmacy, grind and pour into a saucepan. Grass pour vodka or alcohol in an equal proportion. A bottle filled with a mixture should be left in a dark place for two weeks. Use tincture before meals on a teaspoon twice a day.
- 3) Viburnum berries help to lower blood pressure and harmonize the rhythm of the heart. Fruits 1 cup pour 1 cup of boiling water, boil for a couple of minutes on a small fire. Use the broth in a cool 2 times a day for 3-4 tablespoons.
Prevention
For preventive purposes, preventive measures should be taken regarding arterial hypertension and heart failure. When a paroxysmal attack is transferred, it is recommended to refuse significant physical exertion, to reduce alcohol consumption and to take regular preventive medications.
Regarding the diet, you should eat more food containing magnesium and potassium. These are cucumbers, bananas, nuts, watermelons, melons, oatmeal, sea kale, peas. It is useful to eat buckwheat and barley, as well as beans. Fight with stress: you can not be nervous and rework! For prevention, you can use soothing drugs on herbs, for example, such medications as relaxin, sedasen or valerian.
It is important to donate blood for sugar every year to prevent the onset of diabetes. Also pass thyroid ultrasound, problems with it too can become the key to the development of atrial fibrillation.
Since AI is often a consequence of stroke, heart failure, and other heart diseases, constant prevention is important.
The optimal rhythm of the heart is restored due to antiarrhythmic drugs. The doctor selects therapy based on the patient's health, the presence of other pathologies, the presence of medication. Thus, preventive measures can prevent further attacks of atrial fibrillation.
Complications of atrial fibrillation
Because of the disease, heart failure and the appearance of blood clots may occur. Thromboembolism, in particular, which is complicated by significant atrial activity, can lead to ischemic stroke.
Possible complications such as cardiac arrest and death. Significant danger of this disease is for patients with diabetes, high blood pressure, as well as people who have suffered thromboembolism.
Another of the complications is heart failure. She often appears in patients with vices. Sometimes arrhythmogenic shock occurs. All these dangerous conditions for people can lead to death. Observing the prescription of the doctor, you will be cured of atrial fibrillation!