The crazy heart concerns up to 800 thousand Italians. Recognizing and treating it can avoid a stroke attack.
Atrial fibrillation, the most frequent arrhythmia, occurs when heartbeats become irregular and faster.
It is a disease that is constantly increasing, not only among the elderly.
When symptoms arise, the rhythm of the heart becomes disjointed and irregular, the heart is felt “in the throat”, dizziness or difficulty in breathing is felt, even small efforts are made.
Unfortunately, in most cases the symptoms are vague and not very specific or even absent. For this reason it is good to have the regularity of the heartbeat checked frequently and at the first hint of arrhythmia contact your doctor.
Sometimes it even happens that the first to notice the problem is instead the device for measuring the pressure that notices something strange compared to the regularity of the frequency: even then you have to contact the doctor immediately so that he can eventually confirm the diagnosis.
From the heart to the brain
Fibrillation causes blood to stagnate in the atria of the heart, where it is favored coagulation with the consequent formation of small thrombi.
These can enter the circulation, becoming emboli, and close one of the smallest peripheral arteries present anywhere in the body.
Of all peripheral tissues, however, they are most likely to reach the brain, causing a transient ischemic attack (TIA) or even a stroke.
In fact, it is estimated that one in five cases of stroke is related to the presence of an arrhythmia.
In addition, strokes caused by atrial fibrillation are the most serious: they are more fatal, cause greater disability and have a worse outcome than those suffered by those who do not suffer from cardiac pathology.
According to experts, the role of atrial fibrillation in causing stroke is expected to increase in the coming years: the incidence of this arrhythmia will grow about 2.5 times by 2050, due to the constant aging of the population and the greater survival of diseases that predispose to atrial fibrillation, such as heart attack.
When diagnosis saves lives
A diagnosis of atrial fibrillation, especially if made early, reduces the risk of stroke with the help of specific medications that must be prescribed by the doctor.
In fact, there are some that can restore the lost efficiency to the heart, at least in part, while others, to be used practically always, are able to effectively reduce the risk of embolism with their anticoagulant mechanism, provided that it is used in the most appropriate way and adequately monitored.
According to cardiologists, these “optimal” conditions reduce the risk by about two-thirds.
Joycelyn Elders is the author and creator of EmpowerEssence, a health and wellness blog. Elders is a respected public health advocate and pediatrician dedicated to promoting general health and well-being.
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