What does atrial fibrillation mean?

Definitions for atrial fibrillation
atri·al fib·ril·la·tion

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word atrial fibrillation.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. atrial fibrillationnoun

    fibrillation of the muscles of the atria of the heart

Wiktionary

  1. atrial fibrillationnoun

    A cardiac arrhythmia (abnormal heart rhythm) that involves the two upper chambers (atria) of the heart.

Wikipedia

  1. Atrial fibrillation

    Atrial fibrillation (AF or A-fib) is an abnormal heart rhythm (arrhythmia) characterized by rapid and irregular beating of the atrial chambers of the heart. It often begins as short periods of abnormal beating, which become longer or continuous over time. It may also start as other forms of arrhythmia such as atrial flutter that then transform into AF. Episodes can be asymptomatic. Symptomatic episodes may involve heart palpitations, fainting, lightheadedness, shortness of breath, or chest pain. Atrial fibrillation is associated with an increased risk of heart failure, dementia, and stroke. It is a type of supraventricular tachycardia.High blood pressure and valvular heart disease are the most common modifiable risk factors for AF. Other heart-related risk factors include heart failure, coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathy, and congenital heart disease. In low- and middle-income countries, valvular heart disease is often attributable to rheumatic fever. Lung-related risk factors include COPD, obesity, and sleep apnea. Other risk factors include excess alcohol intake, tobacco smoking, diabetes mellitus, and thyrotoxicosis. However, about half of cases are not associated with any of these aforementioned risks. Healthcare professionals might suspect AF after feeling the pulse and confirm the diagnosis by interpreting an electrocardiogram (ECG). A typical ECG in AF shows irregularly spaced QRS complexes without P waves.Healthy lifestyle changes, such as weight loss in people with obesity, increased physical activity, and drinking less alcohol, can lower the risk for atrial fibrillation and reduce its burden if it occurs. AF is often treated with medications to slow the heart rate to a near-normal range (known as rate control) or to convert the rhythm to normal sinus rhythm (known as rhythm control). Electrical cardioversion can convert AF to normal heart rhythm and is often necessary for emergency use if the person is unstable. Ablation may prevent recurrence in some people. For those at low risk of stroke, AF does not necessarily require blood-thinning though some healthcare providers may prescribe aspirin or an anti-clotting medication. For those at more than low risk, experts generally recommend an anti-clotting medication. Anti-clotting medications include warfarin and direct oral anticoagulants. Most people are at higher risk of stroke. While these medications reduce stroke risk, they increase rates of major bleeding.Atrial fibrillation is the most common serious abnormal heart rhythm and, as of 2020, affects more than 33 million people worldwide. As of 2014, it affected about 2 to 3% of the population of Europe and North America. This was an increase from 0.4 to 1% of the population around 2005. In the developing world, about 0.6% of males and 0.4% of females are affected. The percentage of people with AF increases with age with 0.1% under 50 years old, 4% between 60 and 70 years old, and 14% over 80 years old being affected. A-fib and atrial flutter resulted in 193,300 deaths in 2015, up from 29,000 in 1990. The first known report of an irregular pulse was by Jean-Baptiste de Sénac in 1749. Thomas Lewis was the first doctor to document this by ECG in 1909.

ChatGPT

  1. atrial fibrillation

    Atrial fibrillation is a heart condition characterized by irregular and often excessively rapid heart rate. It occurs when the two upper chambers of the heart, known as atria, beat chaotically and irregularly, out of coordination with the two lower chambers of the heart. This can lead to blood clots, stroke, heart failure, or other heart-related problems.

Wikidata

  1. Atrial fibrillation

    Atrial fibrillation is where the signal doesn't originate only from the SA node, and so the atrium doesn't contract simultaneously, causing an incredibly high heart rate, as well as lack of atrial systole. It is the most common cardiac arrhythmia. It may cause no symptoms, but it is often associated with palpitations, fainting, chest pain, or congestive heart failure. However, in some people atrial fibrillation is caused by otherwise idiopathic or benign conditions. AF increases the risk of stroke. The degree of increase can be substantial, depending on the presence of additional risk factors. It may be identified clinically when taking a pulse, and the presence of AF can be confirmed with an electrocardiogram which demonstrates the absence of P waves together with an irregular ventricular rate. In AF, the normal regular electrical impulses generated by the sinoatrial node are overwhelmed by disorganized electrical impulses usually originating in the roots of the pulmonary veins, leading to irregular conduction of impulses to the ventricles which generate the heartbeat. AF may occur in episodes lasting from minutes to days, or be permanent in nature. A number of medical conditions increase the risk of AF, particularly mitral stenosis.

U.S. National Library of Medicine

  1. Atrial Fibrillation

    Abnormal cardiac rhythm that is characterized by rapid, uncoordinated firing of electrical impulses in the upper chambers of the heart (HEART ATRIA). In such case, blood cannot be effectively pumped into the lower chambers of the heart (HEART VENTRICLES). It is caused by abnormal impulse generation.

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of atrial fibrillation in Chaldean Numerology is: 5

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of atrial fibrillation in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8

Examples of atrial fibrillation in a Sentence

  1. John Rumsfeld:

    The current study is a preliminary,' first step' evaluation of a potential relationship between exhaustion and atrial fibrillation, it is purely an observational study -- it can not conclude a causal relationship, or even which direction such a relationship would go.

  2. Karin Johnson:

    Typical post-stroke workup involves testing for many risk factors including carotid atherosclerosis, atrial fibrillation, hypercoagulable states, hypertension, high cholesterol, and diabetes among others, obstructive sleep apnea not only worsens all of these conditions but even with adjusting for other causes doubles the risk of stroke.

  3. Philip Nimoityn:

    Hiccups can be precipitated by a lot of factors, including various stresses, and so can atrial fibrillation. It’s possible that whatever set off one set off the other, but they are not necessarily directly related.

  4. Oussama Wazni:

    If patients lose weight, they will feel better in general and they will have less risk of hypertension and diabetes and less atrial fibrillation, some effects of obesity, like inflammation, might not be completely reversible, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t get people to lose weight.

  5. Lloyd Minor:

    Atrial fibrillation is just the beginning, as this study opens the door to further research into wearable technologies and how they might be used to prevent disease before it strikes.


Translations for atrial fibrillation

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"atrial fibrillation." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/atrial+fibrillation>.

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