There is no other medical condition that you’ll need to care about as much as your heart health. When your body’s pump fails to work properly your entire life is put in jeopardy. So, when you’ve been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation you’ll want to find the best treatment possible to protect your health. Here are a number of different atrial fibrillation treatment options that you might want to discuss with your doctor as you decide which ones will be best for you.
Atrial Fibrillation Medications:
For most people, medication may be the best treatment for them. However, medications may react differently in different people so it’s important that you keep track of the drugs you’re taking and the side effects you’re experiencing. It may be that your doctor will have to adjust your prescription from time to time in order to find the right combination of drugs that will work best for your AF.
Medications for AF usually involve blood thinners to lower your risk of clotting that could eventually lead to a stroke or other major health problems. They could also prescribe beta-blockers, calcium channel blockers, or medications to control your heart rhythm.
Nonsurgical Procedures For Atrial Fibrillation:
There are also a number of nonsurgical procedures that may be used to help to control your AF. These could include electrical cardioversion to reset the heart’s rhythm. But before they do the cardioversion they may require you to have a transesophageal echocardiography (TEE), which involves you swallowing a small ultrasound device so that they can detect blood clots that may have developed in your heart. This will determine if you’ll need to take blood thinners before they do this treatment.
You may also have to have a Catheter Ablation to reduce the extra electrical activity that is causing the AF. It’s usually used when medications or electrical cardioversion have been ineffective. It requires that the heart first be electrically mapped by inserting an electrical catheter to find the extra electrical impulses so that the surgeon can identify the problem areas that are causing the AF.
Surgical Procedures For Atrial Fibrillation:
Probably the most common of the atrial fibrillation treatment options are to implant a pacemaker inside the body to help regulate the heart. This small electrical device is surgically placed under the skin near the collarbone. It will regularly send an electrical signal to the heart in order to help maintain a normal sinus rhythm. The pacemaker can detect when the heart is beating too fast or too slow and send out signals to adjust the rate accordingly.
There is also the open heart maze procedure, which is where the surgeon will actually make small cuts or burns in the upper part of the heart. Once these cuts are repaired, scar tissue will form that can interfere with the electrical signals that are causing the misfiring resulting in AF. Usually this is a very effective way to restore a normal heartbeat and keep it regular.
Dealing with AF is a serious matter and the severity of the condition could lead to life-threatening problems later on. If you’ve been diagnosed with AF then you need to discuss with your health care provider the various atrial fibrillation treatment options so that you can decide which ones will work best for you.
