On a physical exam palpitations are a common symptom of AF often described as a rapid “fluttering in the chest,” with irregular “fluttering” that suggests AF, atrial flutter, or tachycardia with variable block.11 In patients with chronic atrial fibrillation, in-office exercise such as a brisk walk in the hallway may reveal an intermittent accelerated ventricular response as the cause of the palpitations.11 The clinician should look for signs of hyperthyroidism, or signs of stimulant drug use such as dilated pupils and skin or nasal septal lesion11 in order to rule out other causes of AF.
AF is a powerful risk factor for stroke, independently increasing the risk about 5-fold throughout all ages.9 The percentage of strokes attributable to AF …show more content…
This is a score for assessing the risk of stroke and for selecting antithrombotic therapy in patients with atrial fibrillation. CHADS2 stands for Congestive Heart Failure, Hypertension, Age >75, Diabetes mellitus, and the incidence of previous Stroke. For each of the co morbidities, the patient gets 1 point; except for stroke, for which you get 2 points.11
A recent change in this schema was made to include vascular disease, age 65-74 years and sex (gender) category. The acronym now reads as CHA2DS2-VASc. A study conducted in Denmark16 with nationwide data on patients concluded that the risk associated with a specific score depended on all the risk factors composing the score. CHA2DS2-VASc performed better than CHADS2 in predicting patients at high risk, and those categorized as low risk by CHA2DS2-VASc were truly at low risk for thromboembolism. …show more content…
AF often accompanies other co morbid disorders, which should be recognized and treatment should be directed accordingly.18 Risk factor modification that includes weight loss and treatment of HTN, DM, and obstructive sleep apnea has been shown to reduce atrial fibrillation episodes.18
New onset AF can spontaneously revert to normal sinus rhythm as shown in the study of 1822 patients admitted to the hospital because of AF.13 Out of the total number of patients, 356 had arrhythmia that lasted less than 72 hours, 68% of whom spontaneously reverted to sinus rhythm.
AF is a powerful risk factor for stroke, independently increasing the risk about 5-fold throughout all ages.9 The percentage of strokes attributable to AF …show more content…
This is a score for assessing the risk of stroke and for selecting antithrombotic therapy in patients with atrial fibrillation. CHADS2 stands for Congestive Heart Failure, Hypertension, Age >75, Diabetes mellitus, and the incidence of previous Stroke. For each of the co morbidities, the patient gets 1 point; except for stroke, for which you get 2 points.11
A recent change in this schema was made to include vascular disease, age 65-74 years and sex (gender) category. The acronym now reads as CHA2DS2-VASc. A study conducted in Denmark16 with nationwide data on patients concluded that the risk associated with a specific score depended on all the risk factors composing the score. CHA2DS2-VASc performed better than CHADS2 in predicting patients at high risk, and those categorized as low risk by CHA2DS2-VASc were truly at low risk for thromboembolism. …show more content…
AF often accompanies other co morbid disorders, which should be recognized and treatment should be directed accordingly.18 Risk factor modification that includes weight loss and treatment of HTN, DM, and obstructive sleep apnea has been shown to reduce atrial fibrillation episodes.18
New onset AF can spontaneously revert to normal sinus rhythm as shown in the study of 1822 patients admitted to the hospital because of AF.13 Out of the total number of patients, 356 had arrhythmia that lasted less than 72 hours, 68% of whom spontaneously reverted to sinus rhythm.