Stroke Prevention in People with Atrial Fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a health problem experienced by many elderly, especially those over 65. AF is characterized by an irregular and not-normal heart beating. People with atrial fib may feel very uncomfortable at times when heart beating accelerates rapidly. The risk associated with AF is that of the formation of a blood clot that may develop in a stroke. That is why stroke prevention is very important in patients with atrial fibrillation.

With AF the upper part of the heart does not pump blood properly. So, the ventricles (lower part of the heart muscle) remain ineffectively filled with blood at times, which may cause all sort of cardiovascular problems including , a 15 % chance of having a stroke.

Atrial Fibrillation and Stroke Prevention

Since atria fib involves improper blood flow and the possibility of clot formation (which can lead to a stroke), anticoagulants and blood thine rs are prescribed to prevent such events.

Warfarin and heparin are two of the most prescribed anti-clot forming drugs. They, as the name implies, prevent the regular and normal tendency of blood to coagulate when it does not flow properly. The problem wit these anti-coagulant drugs is that they may cause internal bleeding if the dose is too high.

Aspirin is another medication prescribed for stroke prevention. Aspirin is a known anti-platelet medication and it acts disturbing the clot formation process in which platelets are involved.

Another way to prevent stroke in patients with AF is to treat the disease itself instead of preventing the clot formation of the blood. There are a variety of treatments available fro AF management in including the use of beta-blockers, digoxin, and other drugs to control heart beating and avoid rapid beating, the use of radio ablation (use of radio frequency) to destroy tissues involved in the malfunction of the heart, the implantation of pacemakers for proper heart beat and blood pumping, and surgery in some case.

Atrial fibrillation poses a risk for people due to the fact that there is a high risk of stroke. There are two basic approaches to stroke prevention. One is to prevent the formation of blood clots that may originate the stroke and the other is to prevent the atrial fibrillation itself to avoid clot formation. Both approaches are useful and usually both are used at the some time. Drugs and other types of therapy can alone, or in combination, be used to successfully manage the disease and prevent a life threatening event.

Sources:

Atrial Fibrillation By Koweley and Nacarelli (2005). Editor: Marcel Dekker, USA

A Practical Approach to Catheter Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation by Hugh Calkins, Pierre Jais, and Jonathan S. Steinberg (2008). Editor: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins