The incidence of atrial fibrillation increases with age which can causes serious problems in older people, leading to stroke and/or heart failure. Risk factors include hypertension, previous ischemic stroke, transient ischemic attack or other thromboembolic event, coronary heart disease, diabetes mellitus, heart failure, and mitral valve disease (Holding et al., 2009). In addition to advanced age, patients that are obese, of the Caucasian race, or have a history of excessive alcohol use are at risk as well. Caucasians have a larger left atrial diameter than African Americans and other ethnic groups, causing them to be more at risk for atrial fibrillation. Atrial fibrillation that is temporary and reversible is associated with excessive
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Currently, approximately 2.3 million people in the United States are diagnosed with Atrial fibrillation; it is estimated that more than 12 million people will have Atrial fibrillation by the year 2050 (Tedrow et al., …show more content…
Some patients need more invasive treatments, such as surgery or medical procedures using catheters. Doctors may be able to reset the patient’s heart to its regular rhythm, better known as sinus rhythm, by performing a procedure called cardioversion. T. E. had a cardioversion in May 2015 and received another Cardioversion on 09/18/15. Cardioversion can be conducted in two ways. Electrical cardioversion, which is the procedure T.E. underwent, or cardioversion with drugs. Electrical cardioversion is a quick procedure where an electrical shock is delivered to the heart through paddles or patches placed on the patient’s chest. The shock will then stop the patients’ heart's electrical activity for a short amount of time. The end goal when the patient’s heart begins again is for the rhythm to be normal, also known as normal sinus rhythm. The patient is sedated during the procedure so they should not be able to feel the shock. The second type of cardioversion which is performed with drugs uses meds in the antiarrhythmic drug class. They aim to restore the heart back to
Currently, approximately 2.3 million people in the United States are diagnosed with Atrial fibrillation; it is estimated that more than 12 million people will have Atrial fibrillation by the year 2050 (Tedrow et al., …show more content…
Some patients need more invasive treatments, such as surgery or medical procedures using catheters. Doctors may be able to reset the patient’s heart to its regular rhythm, better known as sinus rhythm, by performing a procedure called cardioversion. T. E. had a cardioversion in May 2015 and received another Cardioversion on 09/18/15. Cardioversion can be conducted in two ways. Electrical cardioversion, which is the procedure T.E. underwent, or cardioversion with drugs. Electrical cardioversion is a quick procedure where an electrical shock is delivered to the heart through paddles or patches placed on the patient’s chest. The shock will then stop the patients’ heart's electrical activity for a short amount of time. The end goal when the patient’s heart begins again is for the rhythm to be normal, also known as normal sinus rhythm. The patient is sedated during the procedure so they should not be able to feel the shock. The second type of cardioversion which is performed with drugs uses meds in the antiarrhythmic drug class. They aim to restore the heart back to