Who Gets Atrial Fibrillation

There is no “typical” atrial fibrillation patient. Atrial fibrillation occurs in men and women, in all races, and can occur at any age. While it can “run in the family,” most people diagnosed with atrial fibrillation will not have a family history of the disease. Some events and diseases may make AF more likely, but it can also occur without warning.

Atrial fibrillation is related to age; the older you get, the more likely you are to develop it. About three to six percent of all people over 65 have atrial fibrillation; by age 80, this number increases to eight percent. Men and women are equally susceptible to the disease.

Atrial fibrillation is frequently noted after an “open heart” operation. Other conditions or diseases can also increase your risk of getting atrial fibrillation. This does not mean that atrial fibrillation always develops but the risk does increase. Below are several conditions associated with atrial fibrillation:

• High blood pressure
  
• Coronary heart disease
  
• Mitral valve disease (caused by rheumatic heart disease, valve problems at birth, or infection)
  
• Congenital heart disease
  
• Pneumonia
  
• Lung cancer
  
• Pulmonary embolism
  
• Overactive thyroid
  
• Carbon monoxide poisoning

In addition, alcohol and drug abuse or misuse may predispose you to atrial fibrillation.

While your risk of atrial fibrillation goes up with the above mentioned problems, many people develop atrial fibrillation for no explainable reason.

The mechanisms behind atrial fibrillation are still not clearly understood. It occurs because of problems with the electrical system in and around the heart. Certain triggers can provoke problems in these electrical systems and some people appear to be born with certain cardiac “electrical defects.”

Early in the disease, atrial fibrillation is often times intermittent, meaning that it can come and go without warning and you may go long periods of time between “spells”. When atrial fibrillation first occurs, the early episodes may be brief and cause very mild symptoms. In fact, some people with this early-stage atrial fibrillation may not even know they have it.

The important thing to realize about atrial fibrillation is that while it may come and go periodically it does not permanently go away. In fact, the medical community has a saying: “AF begets AF” meaning a person with atrial fibrillation tends to end up having more atrial fibrillation as time goes on. How quickly it progresses to more prolonged episodes has never fully been understood.

If you or your doctor suspects that you may have atrial fibrillation, you will likely undergo testing to determine any underlying cause for your heart irregularity. This might include blood tests, heart x-rays and/or echocardiograms (looking at the heart with ultrasound waves). Additionally, you may be asked to wear a heart monitor for an extended period of time.. Heart monitors are painless and allow your doctor to record your rhythm for several days during various activities in an attempt to diagnose the condition of atrial fibrillation.

If you have atrial fibrillation, your doctor will be able to talk about how to treat it. Many factors can influence the best therapy for your individual case. The good news for people with atrial fibrillation is that there are more treatment and more effective treatments than ever before in history!

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