(WYTV)- Nearly three million Americans are living with a heart condition called atrial fibrillation.
What is atrial fibrillation and how do we fix it?
A normal heart rhythm should beat like a steady drum. Atrial fibrillation is like a chaotic drumbeat out of rhythm. That can bring on blood clots, heart failure and stroke.
Christopher DeSimone of the Mayo Clinic gave more information.
“The heart’s like a house. you have the upstairs, you have the downstairs, and you have electricity going on at the top of the heart. And it’s a fashion so that blood gets to the rest of your body by going from the top, down through the middle of the heart, out to the bottom of the heart into the basement. The top chambers of the heart is where the problem lies for atrial fibrillation.”
High blood pressure, diabetes or even sleep apnea can bring it on. The treatment may include medication or an electrical shock to the heart.
Do you feel short of breath? Do you feel like you’re just getting older and you’re losing your oomph? That could be ineffective blood pumping, atrial fibrillation.