Atrial Fibrillation

This case study discusses the management of a 68 year old male who presented with chest palpitations secondary to rapid atrial fibrillation. Atrial fibrillation is a common cardiac arrhythmia with serious complications if not treated correctly. This essay will discuss the initial clinical presentation of the patient and examine the management and outcome of the interventions applied. The significance of atrial fibrillation including its pathophysiology and aetiology will also be discussed.

Atril fibrillation, also known as Afib, causes problems with the heart's electrical impulse system resulting in an Afib irregular heartbeat. The most common type of heartbeat problem, Afib affects 2.2 million people in the United States.

What is atrial fibrillation? Atrial fibrillation, also known as afib, is an irregular heartbeat that produces disorganized electrical signals within the heart. This results in quivering of the atria, or top chambers of the heart which allows blood to pool. Stagnant blood in the atria increases the risk of developing a blood clot.1 The blood clot can enter the bloodstream and travel to the brain resulting in a stroke. Atrial fibrillation is associated with a 5 times increased risk for stroke, and approximately 15-20 percent of people who experience a stroke have atrial fibrillation.2 Symptoms of atrial fibrillation are heart palpitations, shortness of breath, weakness, chest pain, dizziness, nausea, and fatigue.1(p6) The incidence of afib increases

Primary Target Keyphrase: identifying Afib 1. When you feel that your heart is racing even when at rest, then it is a heart rhythm disorder known through identifying Afib. This can also happen to healthy heart. 2. You can know the condition of your heart by identifying Afib where the small chambers pumping blood to the larger ventricles begin to quiver erratically causing increased heart rate.

Atrial Fibrillation (AF) is defined as an irregular heartbeat, often of a rapid rate, that causes insufficient blood flow to the body. During atrial fibrillation, the upper chambers of the heart (atria) beat chaotically and out of synchronization with the lower chambers of the heart (ventricles). Atrial fibrillation is the most common sustained arrhythmia, affecting more than 2 million people in the United States, with an estimated 150,000 new cases being diagnosed each year (Shea and Sears, 2008). The Chronic Illness Trajectory Framework, developed by Corbin and Strauss, focuses on the patient living with atrial fibrillation and the ability to manage the course of the illness based on

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a type of irregular heartbeat or dysrhythmia. Atrial fibrillation can be something that happens every now and sometimes you may develop atrial fibrillation that doesn’t go away and needs to be treated. Symptoms of atrial fibrillation usually include heart palpations, dizziness or light-headedness, and a feeling of fluttering or “butterflies” in the chest. Although AF may be asymptomatic, up to two thirds of patients report that the arrhythmia is disruptive to their lives (Markides, 2003). Atrial fibrillation can a lot of the time lead to more serious complications such as stroke, and other heart diseases.

Other hemodynamic effects have also been reported with usage of ivabradine. In a study by Kurtoglu et al, ivabradine was seen to improve heart rate variability in non-ischemic patients with heart failure. (26). De Luca et al showed that addition of ivabradine to optimal medical therapy in patients with stable heart failure with preserved ejection fraction with New York Heart Association (NYHA) class II, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) > 50% and heart rate > 70 bpm, significantly improved physical performance by increasing exercise capacity (27). Another study in patients with stable ischemic heart failure, NYHA functional class II and LVEF ≤ 40%, confirmed these findings and additionally showed an improved gas exchange (with improvement

An EKG would be the first test completed on Mrs. Lee; evaluating her cardiac rhythm and rate. The symptoms described by Mrs. Lee suggests atrial fibrillation. To determine atrial fibrillation via EKG we would be looking for an irregular rhythm, a very fast rate, absent p-waves, an absent PR interval and an either normal or widened QRS (Heart and Stroke, 2017).

The episodes of atrial fibrillation can come and go or remain permanently and cannot usually be corrected without surgical intervention. This could be caused by hypertension,

Prevalence, age distribution, and gender of patients with atrial fibrillation: analysis and implications. Arch Intern Med. 1995; 155:469-73.

Watchman Left Atrial Appendage Closure Device for Embolic Protection in patients with Atrial Fibrillation (PROTECT AF) was a randomized, unblinded, multicenter trial conducted at 59 hospitals.a It involved 707 patients who were ≥18 years old with NVAF, had one or more CHADS2 risk factors (age >75 years, hypertension, diabetes, heart failure or left ventricle systolic dysfunction, prior transient ischemic attack or stroke), and were eligible for long-term anticoagulation with warfarin. Exclusion criteria included presence of patent foramen ovale with atrial septal aneurysm, atrial septal defect, mechanical valve prosthesis, left ventricular ejection fraction 97.5% (the non-inferior margin was a rate ratio [RR] of 2.0 comparing event rates between treatment groups). Superiority was defined by a probability ≥95%.

There no direct cause as why to atrial fibrillation occur but, there is many other disease and disorders that Atrial Fibrillation is associated with. For example Atrial Fibrillation is closely associated with heart attack due to the fact that a during a heart attack the coronary artery is unable to supply oxygen to the heart which then causes the muscles in the heart to starve for oxygen. This can then lead to the death of some muscle tissue in the heart which then can lead to AFib. Hypertension also play a role in AFib, Hypertension (high blood pressure) is a constant high pressure of blood against the walls of the artery (arteries are the blood vessel that carry blood from the heart to our body parts) (A blood vessel is a tube which carries

Atrial fibrillation is the most commonly encountered arrhythmia (abnormal heart rhythm) in the United States, diagnosed in approximately 1% of the population or 2.5 million people (Nottingham, 2010). Atrial fibrillation has always been of interest during this author’s healthcare career. It is always out there, insidiously hiding, causes a multitude of symptoms and problems. This author remembers puzzling over the presentation of atrial fibrillation and it’s management. Identification is always the first challenge. Banner and Lauck (2013) cite Falk (2001) acknowledging the wide presentation of symptoms from asymptomatic to life threatening. Patient specific options can be confusing and challenging to navigate. Treatment algorithms include pharmacology, electrophysiological interventions, and surgery (Berry, Padgett, & Holton, 2015). This author believes, given the prevalence and consequences of mismanagement, the study of relevant evidence based practice in the treatment of atrial fibrillation is a worthy concentration. For many patients, nurses are the first point of contact in the healthcare system. This demands nursing leadership in the areas of identification, treatment and education for atrial fibrillation.

Atrial fibrillation is one type of arrhymia, often rapid heart rate. Atrial fibrillation mean the atrial contract to quicky, disturbance between the atrial and the ventrical. AF usually isn’t life- threatening, however this is dangerous because the patient may not have symptoms, but it can increase risk of heart failure and stroke because the blood flow isn’t fluent.

You have made a great observation that, in order for Ana to receive quality health care at this facility, she is in need of a nutritional assessment in how to incorporate the restriction that she is now faced with, in regards to her recent diagnosis of Atrial fibrillation. I would agree, Ana and her brother will need assistance in getting Medicaid approved, as well as, locating any additional programs that she may now qualify for. Thank for sharing.