Why does afib lead to stroke

Blood clots may form, which could get pumped to the brain. An ischemic stroke is caused when blood flow to the brain is interrupted by a clot in a blood vessel in the brain. It is estimated that one-fourth of all strokes after age 40 are caused by Afib. The risk of stroke depends on several other risk factors including the presence of heart failure , having high blood pressure or diabetes , being over 40 years of age, or having had a previous stroke or a mini-stroke TIA.

Atrial fibrillation can also lead to heart failure. Heart failure is a condition in which your heart can't circulate enough blood to meet your body's needs. Paroxysmal: temporary episodes that come and go.

They start suddenly and then the heart returns to a normal beat on its own without medical assistance, usually within 24 hours. Persistent: episodes that last longer than seven days. Usually treatment is needed to return the heart to a normal rhythm.

Permanent: the irregular heart rhythm lasts for more than a year despite medications and other treatments. Some people with permanent Afib do not feel any symptoms or require medications. If you develop Afib before the age of 60 without any structural heart disease, you may have idiopathic or lone atrial fibrillation.

Researchers have identified a handful of genes that predispose families to idiopathic Afib. It is also possible for young people without Afib in their family to develop the disease.

Some people with Afib may feel fine and not know they have the condition until it is found in a routine test called an electrocardiogram. Other people have symptoms. The symptoms affect people in different ways. If you are experiencing any of these Afib symptoms, visit your doctor. Paul Dorian talks about symptoms and how they might affect you in this video. If you are experiencing chest discomfort or other signs of a heart attack , call or your local emergency number immediately.

If your pulse is fast and your heartbeat is irregular, your doctor may check you for Afib. They will take your medical history and question you about symptoms and risk factors. Your treatment will be based on your risks, medical profile, needs, preferences and how much symptoms are interfering with your quality of life. There are two general treatment strategies — rate control and rhythm control.

Your doctor will determine which strategy is best for you based on your symptoms and other factors. Here are some tips for managing your medications.

Listen to Dr. Other episodes may occur at night and not be felt or occur in the day will lesser symptoms. Many questions arise with these short afib episodes:. However, there are some people in which we can understand their heart on this level of detail, with a pacemaker. A pacemaker is a small device surgically inserted under the skin just below your collarbone. Small wires called pacemaker leads are threaded through a vein just under the collarbone into the upper and lower heart chambers.

Pacemakers are designed to pace your heart if the heart rate goes too slow. Pacemakers are also continuous monitors of the heart recording on a daily basis any abnormal heart rhythms. In people with pacemakers the answers to these atrial fibrillation patients may be found.

Over a 2. In only 15 percent of people was the atrial fibrillation noticed by the patient or their doctor. Unfortunately, even with brief episodes of 6 minutes of atrial fibrillation there was a 2. If brief episodes of atrial fibrillation raise stroke risk , then perhaps early detection of these may help in guiding who to treat with blood thinners. In this study, atrial fibrillation was detected in 50 percent of the patients. AF, which affects as many as 2.

The risk increases with age. In people over 80 years old, AF is the direct cause of 1 in 4 strokes. Treating individuals with warfarin or new blood thinners reduces the rate of stroke for those who have AF by approximately one-half to two- thirds.

People with AF can have multiple strokes, including silent strokes strokes that don't show physical symptoms but show up on a brain scan that, over time, can cause dementia, so prevention is important.

Skip to main content. Submit Search. You are here Home » Disorders » All Disorders. Atrial Fibrillation and Stroke Information Page. What research is being done? Episodes of atrial fibrillation may come and go, or they may be persistent. Although A-fib itself usually isn't life-threatening, it's a serious medical condition that requires proper treatment to prevent stroke.

Treatment for atrial fibrillation may include medications, therapy to reset the heart rhythm and catheter procedures to block faulty heart signals. A person with atrial fibrillation may also have a related heart rhythm problem called atrial flutter. Although atrial flutter is a different arrhythmia, the treatment is quite similar to atrial fibrillation.

Some people with atrial fibrillation A-fib don't notice any symptoms. Those who do have atrial fibrillation symptoms may have signs and symptoms such as:. If you have chest pain, seek immediate medical help. Chest pain could mean that you're having a heart attack.

To understand the causes of A-fib , it may be helpful to know how the heart typically beats. The typical heart has four chambers — two upper chambers atria and two lower chambers ventricles. Within the upper right chamber of the heart right atrium is a group of cells called the sinus node.

The sinus node is the heart's natural pacemaker. It produces the signal that starts each heartbeat. In atrial fibrillation, the signals in the upper chambers of the heart are chaotic. As a result, the upper chambers shake quiver. The AV node is then bombarded with signals trying to get through to the lower heart chambers ventricles.

This causes a fast and irregular heart rhythm. The heart rate in atrial fibrillation may range from to beats a minute. The normal range for a heart rate is 60 to beats a minute.

Problems with the heart's structure are the most common cause of atrial fibrillation. Possible causes of atrial fibrillation include:. In atrial fibrillation, the chaotic heart rhythm can cause blood to collect in the heart's upper chambers atria and form clots.