Is atrial fibrillation life-threatening?
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is not considered a life-threatening arrhythmia. However, if episodes of the arrhythmia are prolonged, there is an associated risk of blood clot formation that can lead to a stroke. In most cases, some sort of medication that prevents blood clots from forming, for example Coumadin or aspirin, is highly recommended. AF can be a bothersome arrhythmia if it causes symptoms and impacts a person’s ability to carry out their activities of daily living. The symptoms that people with AF report (for example, fatigue, lightheadedness, shortness of breath) are most likely caused by the uncoordinated contraction of the heart, which decreases its pumping ability. There are some people, though, who are not as affected by this. They are completely unaware that they are in AF, exhibiting no symptoms at all.
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