What is atrial fibrillation?

What is atrial fibrillation?

Atrial fibrillation is a rapid electrical activity in the upper chambers of the heart. Electrical activity is so fast that effective contraction is not possible. When there is no effective contraction, blood can stagnate in the upper chambers and clots can form there.
Clots from the left upper chamber can migrate to other parts of the body through blood circulation. If the clot blocks a blood vessel of the brain, one side of the body may become weak suddenly, known as stroke. Blocking of a blood vessel of a leg can cause severe pain and blackening of the leg known as gangrene.
Atrial fibrillation is the most common sustained disorder of heart rhythm. Chance for development of atrial fibrillation increases as you grow older. Higher chance is there in those with heart disease and in those with increased activity of the thyroid gland in the neck.
If atrial fibrillation occurs without any other associated problem, it is called a lone atrial fibrillation. One feels irregular fast heart beats or pulse when atrial fibrillation occurs. Occasionally atrial fibrillation can occur after an alcoholic binge. It is then called a holiday heart syndrome as it used to occur with holiday making with binge drinking.
In those with heart disease, occurrence of atrial fibrillation usually causes worsening and may even cause heart failure. This is because of two factors. One is the increased work load of heart due to the fast rate.
Secondly, as the upper chambers are not contracting properly, filling of the lower chambers will be defective. Properly timed contraction of upper chambers contributes about 15% to the filling of the lower chambers in a normal person. But this contribution may go up to 30-40% in older persons with heart disease.
Atrial fibrillation is suspected when the pulse or heart beats are totally irregular and confirmed by an ECG. Now-a-days, there are smart watches which can detect atrial fibrillation, though it is better confirmed by a standard ECG and a physician.