Did you know the human heart beats more than 100,000 times a day? At that pace, it’s no wonder you might feel your heart skip a beat or flutter from time to time. However, if you notice your heart suddenly races or if you have uneven heartbeats that last several minutes, you may have a condition known as atrial fibrillation.
Most common causes include:
Most common causes include:
- After heart surgery
- Cardiomyopathy
- Chronic lung disease
- Congenital heart disease
- Coronary artery disease
- Heart failure
- Heart valve disease
- Hypertension (high blood pressure)
- Pulmonary embolism
Is Stroke a possible complication of AF??
More persistent types of AF are associated with an increased risk of stroke. A stroke can occur when an artery in the brain is blocked by a blood clot (embolus). People with AF are at increased risk of stroke because the irregularly beating atria are prone to developing blood clots. The incomplete contraction of the atria allows blood to pool, stagnate and congeal into a clot.
A blood clot can break free from the atria and circulate in the bloodstream until it reaches a blood vessel in the brain. Untreated, the risk of stroke is quite high. Other risk factors (such as diabetes, hypertension or prior stroke) further increase the risk of stroke in people with AF.
The risk of heart problems, such as heart attack and particularly heart failure, is also increased in people with AF.
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