Is atrial fibrillation serious?

my mom is in hospital with atrial fibrillation, will she be ok

Atrial fibrillation is where the upper chambers of the heart are contracting in a disorganized manner. Because of this, the initiation of the normal/regular heart rhythm is altered and the heart beats at irregular intervals. There are two main potential consequences of this.

First, it is possible to have atrial fibrillation with "rapid ventricular response." This means that the heart rate is very fast. If the heart rate is fast enough, then the chambers do not have enough time to fill with blood effectively between beats, and the pump function is compromised. Someone who has low blood pressure and poor blood flow to the body as a result of high heart rate with atrial fibrillation needs urgent intervention.

For people who have just started to fibrillate, the treatment is electrical cardioversion. Cardioversion is where an electric jolt is used to temporarily stun the heart muscle long enough that it can restart in a coordintated manner. For many patients, this stops the fibrillation behavior and a normal rhythm is restored.

For people who have long-standing irregular rhythm, or an irregular rhythm of unknown duration, it may be best to use medication that will slow the heart rate, even if it doesn't regularize the rhythm. The reason for this is that it is possible for people in A-fib to form clots in the atria of the heart, and these clots can be ejected into the systemic circulation once the heart rhythm regularizes. This clotting problem is the second of the two main problems that I mentioned at the beginning.

A-fib creates flow disturbance in the blood stream as it goes through the heart, and this can create clots. People who are found to be in A-fib and who have been either that way chronically or for an unknown time period are first evaluated with an echocardiogram (heart ultrasound) to look for clots. For people who are in A-fib long term, the treatment is rate control and anti-coagulation medicine to help prevent high heart rate and clots forming inside the heart.

In some cases, the A-fib is a primary issue. For these patients, the A-fib itself requires treatment and monitoring. For other patients, however, the A-fib is a result of other heart issues which require diagnosis and management.

It is impossible to comment intelligently on how your mother is going to do, based on any information we can chat about on the internet. Far too many factors go into that type of assessment. I encourage you to approach her physicians with your questions, and if you don't understand what they say, then ask them to explain further. It is part of our jobs as doctors to be able to explain what is happening and why we recommend what we are doing as the treatment plan.

I hope that helps. If there are specific questions, please feel free to contact me.

Yes, it can be serious.

After she gets out, she might want to talk with her doctor about taking regular supplements of omega-3 fish oil. Fish oil has been studied in medical research,and it seems to be a natural way to help the heart.

And wild (not farmed) salmon is a good source of heart-healthy unsaturated fats.

It may be serious

she will be all right if she takes her medication, I have that also because of my thyroid and I take medication now and feel fine, they just need to find the right meds, some work for some people and some don't, but there are so many out there. Don't worry, it will be fine..................

Bellydoc gave you all the details you may want, but the short story is this. Millions of people live with atrial fibrillation and they are fine. So don't worry about it too much. She will need to take some new meds to prevent some complications like stroke and excessively high heart rates, but she should be fine. Good luck!

It can be serious, however it is very treatable. Once it is stabilized, your Mom will probably have to be on meds for the rest of her life. Prognoses for atrial fib patients is very good.
My Dad developed atrial fib in his 40's and passed away at age 81 from something not related to the heart problem.

I'd add one thing, as a temporary measure about 100mg of aspirin a day could help prevent clots forming in the atria.

The clots can break apart and travel through your system and cause damage.

I had an irregular beat for a while, I switched to a high fibre diet with wholegrain food, fruit, vegetables, grilled lean meat and fish (wild salmon, fresh sardines), also some walnuts and other nuts. Very little saturated fat, sugar or salt and absolutely NO processed food (the corporations don't like that but what the hell). Moderate aerobic exercise 4 times a week.

I lost weight especially from the belly area and it definitely improved my atrial fib. Visceral fat you know, that's a slow killer.

I went back to my crap diet and alcohol intake and within a week the symptoms started coming back, so my "diet" became my permanent regime.