New Risk Factors for Heart Arrhythmia
The risk of experiencing an irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia) increases with age and most people over the age of 75 years experience irregular heartbeats at some point. Not all irregular heartbeats are bad or need treatment. Factors that determine if an arrhythmia is clinically significant include: duration, arrhythmia type, underlying risk factors or trigger(s), and associated […]
Atrial Fibrillation: Pathophysiology in Afib
Maria is a 65 year old female who presents to the emergency room complaining of shortness of breath and palpitations. A heart monitor confirms the presence of an abnormal heart rhythm (arrhythmia) and shows atrial fibrillation (AFib) with a heart rate of 130 beats per minute. The nursing staff tell her the doctor will be […]
How is Losing Weight Interrelated to Atrial Fibrillation?
There are epidemics of atrial fibrillation (AFib) and obesity in the United States. AFib is the most common clinically significant arrhythmia (abnormal heart rhythm). It is estimated to affect over 5.2 million people in the United States and is predicted to affect 12.1 million by 2030. In 2013, 38% of adult Americans were obese (defined […]