Auricular fibrillation; A-fib

You may not be aware that your heart is not beating in a normal pattern.

Symptoms may start or stop suddenly. This is because atrial fibrillation may stop or start on its own.

Symptoms may include:

• Pulse that feels rapid, racing, pounding, fluttering, irregular, or too slow
• Sensation of feeling the heart beat (palpitations)
• Confusion
• Dizziness, light-headedness
• Fainting
• Fatigue
• Loss of ability to exercise
• Shortness of breath

The health care provider may hear a fast heartbeat while listening to your heart with a stethoscope. Your pulse may feel fast, uneven, or both.

The normal heart rate is 60 - 100. In atrial fibrillation/flutter the heart rate may be 100 - 175. Blood pressure may be normal or low.

An ECG (a test that records the electrical activity of the heart) may show atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter.

If your abnormal heart rhythm comes and goes, you may need to wear a special monitor to diagnose the problem. The monitor records the heart's rhythms over a period of time.

• Event monitor
• Holter monitor (24-hour test)
• Implanted loop recorder

Tests to find heart disease may include:

• Echocardiogram (ultrasound imaging of the heart)
• Tests to examine the blood supply of the heart muscle
• Tests to study the heart's electrical system

Treatment can often control this disorder. Many people with atrial fibrillation do very well.

Atrial fibrillation tends to return and get worse. It may come back even with treatment.

Clots that break off and travel to the brain can cause a stroke.

Call your health care provider if you have symptoms of atrial fibrillation or flutter.

Talk to your health care provider about steps to treat conditions that cause atrial fibrillation/flutter. Avoid binge drinking.

Dobrev D, Nattel S. New antiarrhythmic drugs for treatment of atrial fibrillation. Lancet. 2010;375:1212-1223.

Fuster V, Ryden LE, Cannom DS, Crijns HJ, Curtis AB, Ellenbogen KA, et al. 2011 ACCF/AHA/HRS focused updates incorporated into the ACC/AHA/ESC 2006 Guidelines for the management of patients with atrial fibrillation: a report of the American College of Cardiology Foundation/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines developed in partnership with the European Society of Cardiology and in collaboration with the European Heart Rhythm Association and the Heart Rhythm Society. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2011;57:e101-198.

Morady F, Zipes DP. Atrial fibrillation: clinical featuers, mechanisms, and management. In: Bonow RO, Mann DL, Zipes DP, Libby P, eds. Braunwald's Heart Disease: A Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine. 9th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2011:chap 40.

Olgin J, Zipes DP. Specific arrhythmias: diagnosis and treatment. In: Bonow RO, Mann DL, Zipes DP, Libby P, eds. Braunwald's Heart Disease: A Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine. 9th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2011:chap 39.

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