The Complications of Atrial Fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation is caused due to the irregular and rapid electrical discharges of the heart. This condition is known to b the most common form of abnormal rhythm of the heart.

The Complications –

Heart Failure:

When a person is affected by atrial fibrillation, the heart might be incapable of pumping out the right amounts of blood to the body. The body will then begin compensating for this lack of blood by retaining fluid. When this condition occurs, it might lead to a heart failure.

A heart failure might result in further accumulation of fluid in the lower region of the legs; this condition is called edema. In the case of this condition occurring in the lungs, it is called pulmonary edema. Pulmonary edema is said to be responsible in making breathing more difficult. Moreover, it will affect the effectiveness of the lungs; when it comes to extracting carbon dioxide and replenishing the oxygen levels in the blood. This might cause for a drop in the levels of oxygen in the blood, and will be accompanied by a subsequent rise of carbon dioxide levels. This could cause for a complication which is called respiratory failure. Respiratory failure could be a life-threatening complication.

Stroke:

There will be a quivering of the atria when it gets affected by atrial fibrillation. This might cause for a stagnation of the blood that has already gotten accumulated inside the atria. When the blood stagnates, it might tend to form blood clots on the inside of the walls of the atria. In some cases, these blood clots might get dislodged and this would cause for them to flow with the blood stream and some of these might get lodged in the wrong parts of the body; and these will cause for a lot of complications. This process is called embolization.

The most common complication that arises from atrial fibrillation is that a blood clot might travel from the brain and will cause for the onset of a one-sided paralysis and might even affect the person’s facial muscles (the condition is called an embolic stroke). If a blood clot gets clogged near the lungs, it would cause damage to the tissues of the lung and this is called pulmonary infarction. This condition will display symptoms such as shortness of breath and chest pain. When the blood clot travels to extremities of the body, it might cause for cold hands or feet and this will be due to the lack of blood in these parts of the body.