The Big Risk Factors and Causes of Atrial Fibrillation

If you had to guess what do you think is the most important muscle in the human body? Probably the heart right? Without the heart, blood can't get pumped to deliver oxygen and nutrients to organs and they would die. When someone has atrial fibrillation or AF for short, their heart pumps too fast and this can be unhealthy for a few reasons.

One of the big dangers is that it can create a blood clot. If the blood clot reaches the brain it can stop blood flow and this results in a stroke. Other dangers could be heart disease, fatigue, dizziness, chest pains and shortness of breath.

Even though humans have made so many discoveries on how the body operates, some things such as the exact cause of this condition still remain a mystery. The good news is that as a species we do know a few of the major risk factors for AF.

One of the big risk factors is heart disease. According to a study by the American Heart Association when a patient has heart failure it increases the chance of atrial fibrillation. If a patient has mild heart failure there is a 5% chance of them getting atrial fibrillation. If it's a moderate heart failure it can lead to a 10-25% chance of them getting this ailment. If it's severe they may have a 50% chance of getting atrial fibrillation.

Another culprit would be high blood pressure. The big danger with high blood pressure is that it can be a silent killer and often doesn't produce any symptoms. According to Dr. Michael Roizen who is the chief wellness officer at the Cleveland Clinic, he is also popular on the Dr. Oz Show.

High blood pressure causes changes to the heart's structure that makes it more likely to cause rapid, erratic heart beats. Also some experts feel that unhealthy blood pressure is the single biggest risk factor for Atrial Fibrillation.

The last huge risk factor to this disease is going to be age. According to the American Heart Association age is the single biggest risk factor for this condition. The reason for this is because the older someone gets the higher the chance of heart disease, and many other problems that can contribute to atrial fibrillation.

To sum everything up atrial fibrillation is when the heart beats too quickly and can cause blood clots, chest pains, fatigue and dizziness. Three big risk factors that cause this condition would be heart disease, high blood pressure and old age.

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