Atrial Fibrillation: A Case Study

My teaching topic is focus on teaching the patient with atrial fibrillation to recognize the warning signs of stroke. According to the American heart association (AHA), Atrial fibrillation (AF) is an irregular heartbeat or arrhythmia that can lead to blood clots. Having AF can cause patients to have an ischemic stroke, and is one of the leading causes for such strokes.

According to the AHA, Atrial fibrillation accounts for 15–20% of strokes in the U.S. (105,000–140,000 per year) and about 35% of atrial fibrillation patients will have a stroke during their lifetime. If the patients are well informed about their risk factors and the warning signs of a stroke, prevention and timely treatment may be implemented.
The patient needs to be well-educated about the stroke, the many risk factors that involved in stroke, prevention, warning signs, and the need to call 911 for emergency help and treatment. Given the information could lead to improvement in the rapid arrival to the emergency room and promote optimal and timely medical treatment (Kern et al., 2011). …show more content…
Explaining to them what the stroke is and the warning signs helps them to act immediately and prevents the symptoms from getting