Atrial fibrillation as a serious health conditionWhat you should know about Atrial Fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation is one of the so called new diseases in the modern world. Surprisingly, this disease has now affected more than two million people in America and it is increasingly becoming a serious health concern. And this number is expected to grow even more as the disease majorly affects the older people and since everyone is getting older, the risk of getting atrial fibrillation continues to increase. As such, everybody needs to wake up and realize that this disease is a serious deal that needs to be addressed and treated as such.

As everyone has now realized that this disease is quite a big problem unique attention must be provided to screen. In addition, more attention must also be provided to prevent and treating the disease. However, the treatment must be done with a specified target which is actually the greatest concern in treatment of this condition. There is a high likelihood of atrial fibrillation patients to suffer stroke. In fact, 20 percent of strokes today are the result of atrial fibrillation going untreated. This is quite seriously considering that stroke is among the top killers in America and 20 percent of these strokes can be prevented if physicians focus on treating atrial fibrillation. As such, new strategies need to be put in place for preventing this disease as well as providing spot on treatment, which largely emphasizes on the need to minimize the risk of suffering from stroke.

Screening and treatment of atrial fibrillations

Right now, screening of atrial fibrillation happens by serendipity. A patient checks in at the hospital complaining of flattering in his or her chest or a dizzy feeling. However, good screening should be done by checking on the irregularity of pulse and it is an inexpensive and affordable 12 lead electrocardiogram. However, there are certain screening strategies that are more than this but the most important thing is to look for irregular heart rhythms. Now, it is very important that measures are taken to prevent atrial fibrillation because this condition comes together with diabetes, obesity and hypertension.

But there are cases where atrial fibrillation occurs separately without living in other medical conditions and is majorly characterized by heart valve disease. As such, cardiologists should be very discriminative as to what they refer to as atrial fibrillation. However, the most important thing is to understand that atrial fibrillation mainly results from aging after which valvular disease follows suite. The condition has a close association with various cardiac comorbidities like valvular heart disease, hypertension, congestive heart failure and coronary artery disease. There are also non cardiac comorbidities associated with atrial fibrillation like obesity, COPD and sleep apnea. Most physicians administer warfarin for treating the condition. A better alternative to warfarin is Pradaxa or dabigatran which contributes significantly to prevention of stroke among atrial fibrillation infected patients.