hypertension

Understanding Atrial-Fibrillation (A-Fib) requires a frame of reference of the normal rhythm. A normal heart, for example, beats 60–70 times a minute. Each impulse from the pacemaker is transmitted to the heart – each depolarization or each impulse causes a heartbeat. Patients develop tiny circuits that spin chaotically, causing the top chambers to beat continuously in A-Fib. The heart rate is 100 beats or more per minute instead of the normal 60–70 beats per minute in a normal state of relaxation. The extra beats originate from the pulmonary veins, which connect the heart and lungs together. A highly irregular rhythm results from the bombarding of electrical impulses.
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The prevalence of atrial fibrillation becomes higher with age and 15% above the age of 70 suffer from A-Fib. Common symptoms in A-Fib patients are palpitations, shortness of breath, fatigue, lightheadedness and chest pain. ECG is used to determine A-Fib. A cause of concern is that the majority of episodes with A-Fib don’t show any symptoms indicating that symptoms greatly underestimate the impact of the disease. Atrial fibrillation gets worse with age because the firing veins fire more frequently