Atrial fibrillation is the most common heart condition people may acquire. Atrial fibrillation is when the heart beats between 350-600 beats per minute. The rhythm of the heart is irregular. Since the atria of the heart are beating so fast, the heart is not pumping effectively. Blood remains in the atria and clots, or thrombi, may form. These clots can move to the brain and increase the risk of stroke in many atrial fibrillation patients. There is no cure for atrial fibrillation; it can only be controlled. The heart may convert to a normal rhythm, by itself, but this doesn’t happen very often. The goal of treating atrial fibrillation is to control the rate and rhythm of the heart. Rate control treatment slows down the heart rate, where rhythm
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Antiarrhythmic drugs may be taken with rate control drugs, as well. Physicians choose antiarrhythmic treatment because it is the safest and least invasive way to control atrial fibrillation (Prystowsky & Curtis, 2015). Petrac describes these drugs as a helper to maintain a normal rhythm and to help prevent the heart from repairing itself. Antiarrhythmic therapy, also, stops scars from forming on the heart (Petrac, 2012). These drugs reduce the amount of hospitalizations that occur in patients with a-fib. Rodriguez-Manero, Sarkozy, Chierchia, Casada-Arroyo, Ricciardi, and De Asmundis believe antiarrhythmic drugs, also, reduce the mortality rate. Amiodarone is one of the most important drugs found to be effective throughout the research. Amiodarone decreases the workload of the heart, allowing blood to be released out of the atria and into the ventricles. The continuous movement of blood, throughout the heart, does not allow thrombi to form. Amiodarone can become toxic to the person using the drug for long term treatment (Petrac, 2012). Petrac also found that a rate control strategy was the better choice for treatment, but rhythm control is still being used. His study showed the safety and adverse effects of antiarrhythmic drugs. The studies were performed on newly diagnosed patients over the age of 65. The studies should have been expanded to include a younger age …show more content…
These treatments can be used together. Catheter ablation is when radio waves are sent to destroy the heart tissue that is producing the irregular heart rhythm. Once the heart tissue is destroyed in this way, it cannot be repaired or regenerated (Jichao, Kharche, Hansen, Csepe, Yufeng, Stiles et al., 2015). Santangeli and Lin’s study suggested that isolating the pulmonary veins was a better technique to achieve a high success rate with catheter ablation. They used a large sample size of a little over a thousand people and monitored them for up to two years. The sample size may be too large, but they were able to isolate the pulmonary veins with different techniques and placement to guide the catheter into the heart. So, they actually achieved more results with just one study for the same idea. The results were checked at the one year mark to see if any recurrences happened with or without additional treatment (antiarrhythmic drugs). Another study was done, which studied computer models of the heart. According to Jichao, Kharche, Hansen, Csepe, Yufeng, & Stiles, this study is good to help determine where the catheters should be placed and where the location of the tissue ablation should occur. Computer models can help show different stages of atrial fibrillation and how to correct the problems. These models may be able to show more risky ablation procedures
Antiarrhythmic drugs may be taken with rate control drugs, as well. Physicians choose antiarrhythmic treatment because it is the safest and least invasive way to control atrial fibrillation (Prystowsky & Curtis, 2015). Petrac describes these drugs as a helper to maintain a normal rhythm and to help prevent the heart from repairing itself. Antiarrhythmic therapy, also, stops scars from forming on the heart (Petrac, 2012). These drugs reduce the amount of hospitalizations that occur in patients with a-fib. Rodriguez-Manero, Sarkozy, Chierchia, Casada-Arroyo, Ricciardi, and De Asmundis believe antiarrhythmic drugs, also, reduce the mortality rate. Amiodarone is one of the most important drugs found to be effective throughout the research. Amiodarone decreases the workload of the heart, allowing blood to be released out of the atria and into the ventricles. The continuous movement of blood, throughout the heart, does not allow thrombi to form. Amiodarone can become toxic to the person using the drug for long term treatment (Petrac, 2012). Petrac also found that a rate control strategy was the better choice for treatment, but rhythm control is still being used. His study showed the safety and adverse effects of antiarrhythmic drugs. The studies were performed on newly diagnosed patients over the age of 65. The studies should have been expanded to include a younger age …show more content…
These treatments can be used together. Catheter ablation is when radio waves are sent to destroy the heart tissue that is producing the irregular heart rhythm. Once the heart tissue is destroyed in this way, it cannot be repaired or regenerated (Jichao, Kharche, Hansen, Csepe, Yufeng, Stiles et al., 2015). Santangeli and Lin’s study suggested that isolating the pulmonary veins was a better technique to achieve a high success rate with catheter ablation. They used a large sample size of a little over a thousand people and monitored them for up to two years. The sample size may be too large, but they were able to isolate the pulmonary veins with different techniques and placement to guide the catheter into the heart. So, they actually achieved more results with just one study for the same idea. The results were checked at the one year mark to see if any recurrences happened with or without additional treatment (antiarrhythmic drugs). Another study was done, which studied computer models of the heart. According to Jichao, Kharche, Hansen, Csepe, Yufeng, & Stiles, this study is good to help determine where the catheters should be placed and where the location of the tissue ablation should occur. Computer models can help show different stages of atrial fibrillation and how to correct the problems. These models may be able to show more risky ablation procedures