Atrial Fibrillation, also known as AF, is an irregular heartbeat, leading to disrupted blood-flow that has become an increasingly common health-ailment in recent years. It can also lead to rapid heartbeat which can be a barrier to efficient blood-flow around the body, and has the potential to cause strokes for the people that experience it.
Whilst it can lead to serious health-problems, it can often remain undetected and undiagnosed, as its symptoms manifest themselves in a way that do not necessarily result in chronic-pain or extreme palpitation Many people who suffer from it are likely to experience a mild-fluttering of the heart from time-to-time, and yet, if it remains in-treated, the risk of serious illness can increase significantly.
In addition to experiencing a mild-flutter of the heart, symptoms can include: tiredness, dizziness, shortness of breath and lethargy. Whilst younger people can suffer from it, a person’s chances of developing AF increase after the age of 60, and onset can also be influenced by a range of health-factors such as obesity, diabetes and high-blood pressure. People who undergo heart-surgery are also at risk and studies recently conducted by Mohammed Saeed, MD at St Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, based in Houston, in the US, have indicated that at-least 30% of people recovering from heart-surgery will experience AF – even if it’s just temporary.
As well as requesting that your doctor monitors your heart-rate during regular check-ups, you can administer self-checks by placing two fingers on the centre of your neck and moving them slightly to the left towards the carotid artery to locate your pulse. If you cannot find your pulse in this manner, you can also position two fingers on your inner-wrist and press gently, just below where your thumb and wrist connect. If your pulse feels irregular – it is likely you are in AF and you should seek medical-advice immediately.
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