Symptoms of atrial fibrillation may include heart palpitations, shortness of breath, fatigue, or chest discomfort.
Symptoms of atrial fibrillation include:
1. Palpitations, the patient feels that the heartbeat is fast or disordered;
2. Physical fatigue or fatigue;
3. Dizziness, and even some people will faint;
4. Chest discomfort, manifested as chest tightness, chest compression or discomfort, and even chest pain;
5. Shortness of breath, difficulty breathing during mild physical activity or rest.
In addition, a considerable number of patients may not have any symptoms.
In addition to affecting the quality of life of patients, atrial fibrillation may also pose harm to patients, such as an increased risk of thromboembolism. In atrial fibrillation, the effective systolic function of the atrium is lost, and the blood flow rate is slowed down, which is prone to thrombosis. A thrombus can break off and block a blood vessel in the brain, leading to a cerebral infarction. In addition, thrombus shedding can also embolize other blood vessels, such as embolization of intestinal arteries, embolization of lower extremity arteries, resulting in mesenteric embolism or lower extremity arterial embolism. Long-term atrial fibrillation can cause atrial enlargement, leading to or aggravating heart failure; in addition, it can lead to tachycardiomyopathy, the patient’s heart function will be severely reduced. Atrial fibrillation is an abnormal heart rhythm. There are many causes of atrial fibrillation, mainly heart disease, including coronary heart disease, hypertension, rheumatic heart disease, pulmonary heart disease, congenital heart disease, etc. Atrial fibrillation can also be caused by other conditions, including hyperthyroidism, severe infection, and surgical stress. Features of atrial fibrillation include: uneven heartbeat, irregular heartbeat, and inconsistent pulse and heartbeat.
Patients with atrial fibrillation require a 24-hour Holter monitor. Sometimes, repeated 24-hour Holter monitoring is done, and even implantable ECG monitoring devices are used to catch episodes of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation and assist in diagnosis. Atrial fibrillation requires aggressive search for the cause and control of the heartbeat. The hazards of atrial fibrillation are mainly thromboembolism, and stroke is the most common. Therefore, patients requiring anticoagulation after thromboembolic risk assessment should be prescribed regular medication.
Plus1Health has an ECG patch that can be used for ECG monitoring. It is equipped with the “TiNew” applet, which can screen for atrial fibrillation. There is also a free app—”AFibCheck“, which can be downloaded and used by searching in the mobile app store, and the operation is simple and convenient.