Martha Jefferson Monday: What is A-Fib? - NBC29 WVIR Charlottesville, VA News, Sports and Weather

A racing heart, shortness of breath, dizziness or palpitations. These are all symptoms of atrial fibrillation, or A-Fib. 

"A-Fib is a an abnormal rhythm which drives the heart as a very rapid rate," said Dr. John Zakaib, a cardiac electrophysiologist at Martha Jefferson Hospital. 

You can think of A-Fib as a racing, irregular heart beat. 

"When a patient experiences A-Fib, there is a sudden onset of abnormal electrical activity emanating from the left atrium, driving the upper chambers of the heart at approximately 450 cycles per minute, which is so fast that the upper chambers are just shaking. The lower chambers respond to that as fast as they can, but that often results in a heart rate of approximately 150-180 beats per minute," said Zakaib. 

A-Fib affects nearly 2.2 million people in the country, and that number is expected to double over the next 20 years. 

The good news is that there are a variety of treatment options available to fit each patient's need. 

"Management of symptoms is most commonly with medications, but sometimes with catheter ablation therapy, which is an invasive therapy in which the arrhythmia can be corrected," said Zakaib. 

For more information on atrial fibrillation or Dr. Zakaib, call Health Connection at Martha Jefferson Hospital at (434) 654-7009.

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