Your heart has 4 chambers, two upper and two lower. The upper chambers are called the atria and the lower are the ventria. When your heart works normally, they work together and your heart goes thump-thump in a nice regular rhythm. However, when it isn't working, your heart could stutter, miss beats, or beat very irregularly. There are several conditions that this could be. One of them is atrial fibrillation. 

What Is Atrial Fibrillation?

A-fib happens when the two atria beat out of rhythm with the atria. Instead of a nice two/two beat, the atria may beat two or three times for every beat of the ventria, or it may not beat at all. The atria also don't fully beat; they more quiver than beat. That means that they aren't efficient, which doesn't get all the blood out of the heart and through the body to get it enough oxygen.

What Are Some Symptoms of Atrial Fibrillation?

The most noticeable symptom is the feeling of a stuttering heartbeat. However, not everyone feels that. They may not even know that they have A-fib. There are other, more silent symptoms. Those can include shortness of breath, fatigue, and even fainting. The problem with some of those symptoms is that they can be mistaken for several other issues. If you don't feel your heart stutter, then you might not link your fatigue to A-fib. 

What Are the Complications of Atrial Fibrillation?

Atrial fibrillation is a serious problem. Too many people don't think that it is all that severe. However, having A-fib puts you are higher risk for many things. That can include being more than four times more likely to have a stroke. Other issues can include blood clots. Because the atria aren't working the way they should and not working with the ventria, your heart doesn't completely empty. That can lead to blood clots. Those blood clots can end up in any part of your body and cause even more complications. 

What Are Some Treatments For Atrial Fibrillation?

There are some medications that you can take. They help to get your heart to beat in rhythm. Another option is to use an electrical shock. If you have ever seen a medical show, you've seen someone get their heart shocked to get it back into rhythm. It's the same thing for your A-fib. An implantable defibrillator can be used to give your heart a small shock whenever necessary, so that it can get my into the correct rhythm.  

If you suspect that you may have a heart condition, you should go see a doctor at a place like Halifax Heart Center as soon as possible. You may not think that it's something really need to deal with, but it is a serious problem and the sooner you can get it checked .out the better off you are.