Atrial Fibrillation & Heart Rhythm Disorders
Atrial fibrillation is the most common arrhythmia that affects people over
the age of 60. The prevalence may be as high as 15% of all patients over
the age of 60, and is predicted to increase. Atrial fibrillation can increase
the risk of stroke depending on underlying risk factors. Those include
age (over 65), female gender, history of prior stroke, diabetes, hypertension,
and presence of vascular disease.
Another type of arrhythmia, supraventricular tachycardia (SVT), is an abnormal
electrical pathway that causes the heart to beat rapidly.
What to Watch For
Symptoms that you may experience if you have atrial fibrillation:
- Palpitations
- Shortness of breath
- Chest discomfort
- Feeling of a rapid or irregular heartbeat
- Trouble breathing during physical exertion
Symptoms of supraventricular tachycardia (SVT)
Patients who experience SVT suffer from palpitations, episodes of rapid
heart rates. This may prompt an emergency department evaluation.
How to Diagnose Heart Rhythm Disorders
Holter monitor or event monitor testing diagnose possible arrhythmias.
These devices monitor and record your heart rhythm for a certain number of days.
Conveniently located in our suite, our Cardiovascular Imaging Center is
equipped to provide Holter monitor and event monitor testing and other
high-quality, non-invasive cardiac and vascular tests in a comfortable,
office atmosphere.
Test Information and Preparation
Visit this page to learn more about Holter monitor and event monitor testing.
How to Treat Atrial Fibrillation
Classification of Atrial Fibrillation
-
Paroxysmal
- Episodes lasting from minutes up to 7 days in duration
-
Persistent
- Episodes lasting more than 7 days in duration, requiring chemical or electrical
cardioversion for restoration of sinus rhythm
-
Long Standing Persistent
- Episodes lasting more than 7 days, and typically longer than 30 days in
duration. Cardioversion has never been offered, or rate control approach
has been used.
Management of Atrial Fibrillation
- Rhythm control strategy to help manage symptoms
- Catheter ablation using either radiofrequency energy or cryoablation to
destroy the cells responsible for triggering atrial fibrillation
- Ablation is not curative, but improves control of atrial fibrillation,
with fewer arrhythmia episodes
- Surgical approaches if inadequate control with catheter-based ablation
Stroke Risk Reduction in Atrial Fibrillation
-
Oral anticoagulation medications (blood thinners)
- Physician determines need based on patient’s risk for stroke
- Risk score includes age, gender, vascular disease, hypertension, diabetes
and history of stroke
-
Devices for patients who cannot take oral anticoagulation medications (recurrent
bleeding or in professions with high risk for bleeding)
- Watchman™ – left atrial appendage occlusion (blockage) device
- Amulet™ – left atrial appendage occlusion (blockage) device
- AtriClip device – surgical option
How to Treat SVT
Treatment options for supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) include medical
management and catheter ablation.
Lifestyle
These lifestyle factors are important to help manage atrial fibrillation
and other heart rhythm disorders:
- Weight loss/maintain healthy weight
- Moderate exercise
- Avoid alcohol
- Control blood pressure
- Treat sleep apnea, if present