The normal rhythm of the heart is disturbed with an irregular and rapid beating of the heart’s upper chambers (the atria) when people develop Atrial Fibrillation. Symptoms include a rapid heartbeat along with dizziness, confusion, palpitations, breathlessness, weakness and chest pain and the person may also have a heart murmur. Some of the triggers include caffeine, stress and alcohol consumption. Individuals with hypertension, coronary artery disease, congenital heart disease and other heart conditions are most likely to experience Atrial Fibrillation. The risk of heart failure and stroke is more among these people. The good thing is A-Fib can be managed with medications and lifestyle changes. Before going ahead, here’s some information on the life-saving CPR techniques.
The CPR techniques comprise chest compressions and rescue breaths. Proper application can revive the life of a victim involved in a cardiac emergency which can either be a cardiac arrest or heart attack. These are life-threatening emergencies and a victim would require immediate treatment for survival with the most appropriate treatment being timely administration of the CPR techniques. For a CPR class Tampa, make sure to sign up in a certified training center such as the AHA certified CPR Tampa in Florida. Both theoretical and practical training are imparted to the students.
Doctors prescribe medications for A-Fib on the basis of specific health problems that each medication addresses:
Clot Prevention- The most important reason behind people taking A-Fib medications is to prevent clots which may already be present or to thin the blood to keep clots from forming. Two different kinds of medications are used: antiplatelets like aspirin and anticoagulants like warfarin. Some of the other anticoagulant medications include dabigatran, rivaroxaban, edoxaban and apixaban.
Normalizing the Heart’s Rhythm- These medications bring the heart back to a normal rhythm. This process is referred to as drug or chemical cardioversion. Drug or chemical cardioversion can be achieved by restricting the ticker’s ability to conduct electricity which uses sodium blockers, such as flecainide or tambocor, propafenone or rythmol, and quinidine. The other way it is achieved is by interrupting the disruptive signals that cause the heart to go out of rhythm which uses potassium blockers like amiodarone, cordarone, pacerone, sotalol or betapace, and dofetilide.
These medications are also termed as antiarrhythmic drugs with doctors being very cautious about prescribing them as their side-effects can cause problems with the heart rate and other body functions.
Keeping the heart rate in check- As per the American Heart Association, there are three main types of drugs that are used to control the heart rate with the first one being beta-blockers like atenolol, bisoprolol, carvedilol, metoprolol, nadolol, propranolol, and timolol. Calcium channel blockers is the second one and the last one is digitalis, or digoxin that regulates electric currents in the ticker.
Atrial Fibrillation is the most common in those aged over 65 which affects between 2.7-6.1 million people in the US. Doctors consider several factors prior to developing treatment plans like an individual’s age, heart rate, stroke risk, severity of the symptoms, preexisting heart disease and other health conditions. The main goal of A-Fib medication is to reduce the risk of stroke. Doctors may not advice any further medications if anticoagulants and heart rate drugs are keeping patients symptom-free and there is a healthy heart rate.
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