What do I need to know about living with atrial fibrillation?

If you’ve recently been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, you may have lots of questions about continuing to live well with the condition.

Rest assured that it’s possible to live a normal life with atrial fibrillation.

The key to managing your condition is to find out as much as you can about it. That’s why we’ve put together this guide to living with atrial fibrillation, answering common questions and helping to give you renewed confidence.

What is atrial fibrillation?

Atrial fibrillation is a type of irregular heart rate or arrhythmia.

It happens when one or both of the upper chambers of the heart (the “atria”) fibrillate. This means they quiver instead of beating regularly, and the condition results in an irregular and often unusually fast heartbeat.

Atrial fibrillation symptoms

While some people with atrial fibrillation have no symptoms, others may experience:

• Heart palpitations, with the heart feeling like it's fluttering, pounding or beating irregularly — this feeling may last from a few seconds to a few minutes
• A very fast heartbeat (more than 100 beats per minute)
• Fatigue
• Weakness
• Breathlessness
• Feeling faint or dizzy
• Chest pain

If you experience chest pain that persists for more than a few minutes or any other signs of a heart attack, call triple zero (000) immediately.

If you suspect you may have atrial fibrillation, it’s important to get checked out by a doctor, who will be able to order tests to diagnose you and offer appropriate treatment.

If left untreated, atrial fibrillation impairs the way the heart works. This means you are at greater risk of a blood clot forming in the heart and travelling to the brain, causing a stroke.

People with atrial fibrillation are also at greater risk of low blood pressure (hypotension) and heart failure.

Atrial fibrillation causes

Doctors don’t always know what causes atrial fibrillation. But it is more common in certain groups of people.

These groups include people with other heart conditions — for example:

• High blood pressure (hypertension)
• Congenital heart disease
• Atherosclerosis
• Heart valve disease
• Cardiomyopathy
• Pericarditis

Atrial fibrillation is also more common in people with other medical conditions, such as:

• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
• Type 2 diabetes
• Overactive thyroid
• Asthma
• Pneumonia
• Lung cancer
• Pulmonary embolism
• Carbon monoxide poisoning

It’s worth noting, however, that atrial fibrillation can also affect people who are otherwise fit and well.

Atrial fibrillation triggers

Certain activities or circumstances may trigger atrial fibrillation. These include:

• Drinking alcohol excessively
• Being overweight
• Being an older person
• Consuming lots of caffeine — in energy drinks, tea or coffee, for example
• Taking illegal drugs, cocaine and amphetamines in particular
• Smoking

Atrial fibrillation treatment

There are different ways to treat atrial fibrillation, depending on its cause, your symptoms and any other health conditions you might have.

Treatments include:

• Medication — This may be given to make the heart’s rhythm beat more normally or slow it down, or to reduce the risk of blood clots and stroke.
• Electrical cardioversion — This is a procedure done under general anaesthetic, wherein a shock is given to the heart to reset its rhythm.
• Catheter ablation — Here, energy, such as high-frequency radio waves, destroy or ablate the area of the heart that is causing the abnormal rhythm.
• Pacemaker — This is a small device that is implanted in your chest to help your heart beat in a more normal rhythm.

How can I live well with atrial fibrillation?

It’s possible to live a full and healthy life after you have been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation.

You can do this by taking care of your overall health and wellbeing, including your heart health:

• Eat a balanced and healthy diet.
• Take regular exercise suitable to your fitness level.
• Maintain a healthy weight.
• Quit smoking.
• Limit your intake of alcohol and caffeine.
• Manage any other health conditions, such as diabetes.

You should also keep any regular appointments you have with your doctor or another healthcare professional so that they can monitor your health.

To help you feel more confident in your day-to-day life, you may also wish to wear a medical ID with information about your condition.

You can wear a personalised medical alert that says you are living with atrial fibrillation or opt for one that states the name of your medication.

Med alerts like these help you feel more confident, as you know you will get the right medical treatment in the event of an emergency or if you can’t communicate yourself.

Choose from silicone medical IDs, which are comfy, durable and hypoallergenic, or a classic stainless steel medic alert that’s both stylish and practical.

Living your best and fullest life!

Atrial fibrillation can often be successfully managed with a combination of treatment prescribed by your doctor and taking care of your health and wellbeing yourself.

Know that at Mediband, our products are designed to help you feel more confident, whatever your medical condition.

Browse our collection of pre-printed medical ID bracelets or have a plain wristband personalised with the information of your choice about atrial fibrillation.

Wearing an ID is a simple step towards living the best and fullest life you can, no matter your diagnosis!