Abstract
Atrial fibrillation is the most common sustained cardiac arrhythmia. It currently afflicts over three million patients in this country and is associated with a tremendous clinical and economic burden. Complications of this arrhythmia are multiple and include heart failure, stroke, hospitalization, and death. Important risk factors for atrial fibrillation are age, heart failure, hypertension, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. This arrhythmia is a manifestation of disorganized and rapid electrical activity caused by anatomic and physiologic remodeling of the atria, which results in elevated and irregular ventricular rate. This arrhythmia is manifested by multiple symptoms, of which the most common is fatigue. Atrial fibrillation can be promoted by cardiac failure and can result from cardiac dysfunction. The arrhythmia is classified by the duration of its episodes, which may be brief, prolonged, repetitive, and permanent. The basic approaches to the management of atrial fibrillation in the acute or chronic settings are rate control, rhythm management, and anticoagulation.
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Amsterdam, E., Venugopal, S., Srivatsa, U.N. (2016). Pathophysiology of Atrial Fibrillation and Clinical Correlations. In: Peacock, W., Clark, C. (eds) Short Stay Management of Atrial Fibrillation. Contemporary Cardiology. Humana Press, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31386-3_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31386-3_2
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