Atrial Fibrillation Health Risks
Atrial Fibrillation Health Risks
The health risks of atrial fibrillation are serious and multi-dimensional. Because your heart is the essential organ for life sustaining function, anything that impedes your heart's performance can cause other medical conditions throughout your body.
Your heart and the rest of your organs and tissues are incredibly resilient. When tissue function begins to deteriorate, your body will adapt to certain adverse conditions to sustain itself. If your atrial fibrillation isn't treated early enough, your heart will begin to remodel itself to provide optimal function in its compromised state. Once this occurs, AF tends to become permanent and continuous, and the success rate of the mini-maze surgery drops by 20%.
Get the surgery before remodeling reduces your chances of a successful outcome. At Western Cardiovascular Associates, Dr. Affleck provides excellent medical care in a state-of-the-art surgical facility. Dr. Affleck can cure more patients with atrial fibrillation because he trained at Washington University in St. Louis where the Maze procedure was developed. For patients with permanent and continuous AF, Dr. Affleck's success rate using the Mini-Maze is 70% (90% if the full Cox-Maze IV is used), which is 20% higher than other surgical facilities offering the same procedure. Dr. Affleck currently trains other surgeons in the mini-maze technique, and he has performed this procedure on more patients than any other surgeon in the western United States. Whether you live in Salt Lake City, Ogden, or Utah Valley, or anywhere in the country, contact Western Cardiovascular Associates online or call us at 801-743-4750 today. End your afib, end the health risks.
Stroke
The most prevalent health risk from atrial fibrillation is stroke. Your risk of stroke increases five fold if you have AF. Current estimates suggest that 35% of all patients with AF will suffer a stroke in their lifetime.
Because the atria are unable to contract in a coordinated rhythm with the ventricles, blood is not pumped through the heart with sufficient force. As blood stalls in the left atrial appendage, it tends to clot causing what is called an atrial thrombus. When a piece of thrombus breaks free, it becomes an embolus and enters the blood stream. 25% of all strokes are caused by these arterial emboli, and 91% of systemic arterial emboli are found in the left atrial appendage of patients with AF.
Part of Dr. Affleck's mini-maze procedure includes excising the left atrial appendage which alleviates the risk of systemic arterial emboli.
Congestive Heart Failure
Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a chronic condition due to damage or strain that results in the deterioration of the heart's muscles. CHF impairs the heart's ability to effectively pump blood throughout the body. As the pumping mechanism declines over time, fluid backs up in the lungs causing pulmonary hypertension which can lead to fluid build up in the tissues throughout the body. The body compensates by reducing blood flow to the least necessary organs so the brain and the heart continue to receive sufficient amounts of nutrient-rich, oxygenated blood.
Over time, atrial fibrillation can lead to congestive heart failure. Conversely, CHF can cause structural changes in the heart that can lead to atrial fibrillation. As the heart muscles are impaired, they compensate by increasing in size and pumping faster. Enlarged and strained hearts tend to be more susceptible to AF.
Other Illness
Many of the other illnesses related to atrial fibrillation are caused by oxygen deficiencies. Your blood transports oxygen and nutrients to all of your body's organs and tissues, and removes carbon dioxide and waste. When your heart cannot pump blood effectively, oxygen is not transported efficiently and oxygen deficiencies and other heart related disorders occur:
- Hypoxia: oxygen deficiency in the blood and tissues
- Chronic Fatigue: reduced functioning of organs and tissues due to lack of oxygen and/or over exertion
- Heart Disease: high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, valvular heart disease
- Mitral valve prolapse: occurs when the mitral valve is incapable of completely closing during ventricular systole allowing blood to regurgitate into the left atrium which can lead to cardiac arrhythmias over time.
- Pericarditis: inflammation of the pericardium
- Sick sinus syndrome: irregular heartbeat alternating between tachycardia and bradycardia
- Sinus tachycardia: a very high sinus rhythm originating from the sinoatrial (S-A) node
- Ventricular tachycardia: an excessively rapid irregular heartbeat associated with erratic electrical impulses generated in the ventricles
These are the most common and prevalent health risks associated with atrial fibrillation. Other conditions may present themselves in any specific case. If you have symptoms of atrial fibrillation or any other heart disease or health condition, contact your doctor. If you have already been diagnosed with afib, and you want to pursue your surgical options for treatment, contact Western Cardiovascular Associates online or call us at 801-743-4750 today.