Stroke Alert: Beware of Atrial Fibrillation

When driving along highways, roads or motorways one encounters many signposts. They may be pictorial or have abbreviations or numbers indicating certain things. It is advantageous to pay attention, especially if they are there to warn us of potential problems. In a similar way, if we are on the highway of good health or travelling to get there, we should take in certain guideposts for our safety.
This is why I was so impressed , in my surfing travels across the net to encounter “Ask First”, an awareness thrust organised by the Stroke Association in the United Kingdom.. Its goal is to increase public awareness of the connection between the occurrence of stroke and atrial fibrillation. The motto “Ask First, to Prevent a Stroke Later” , emphasizes the role prevention has to play in this. The campaign stimulates the public to ask questions concerning atrial fibrillation and what relationship it has to strokes. If you are on the highway to health , certainly this is a signpost not to be ignored. What then is atrial fibrillation? One can describe it as a common type of arrythmia with rapid and irregular heart beats or pulse rates. Typical symptoms include palpitations, chest pain, fatigue and breathlessness. Also there may be no overt symptoms, but the pulse can be irregular over one minute. There are three clinical patterns of atrial fibrillation observed by professional health practitioners.

Paroxysmal - This occurs when the initial episode is less than seven days in duration,and another episode starts later on. It is usual for each occurrence of paroxysmal AF to be less than twenty-four hours.

Persistant - This happens when AF lasts for more than seven days and will not cease by itself.

Permanent - AF that continues for a long time, meaning a year or more is considered permanent.

The primary danger with untreated AF is that it can lead to the formation of blood clots which can move through the arteries in the neck and cause a stroke. It is known that the annual risk of stroke is five times greater in people with AF than in persons with normal heart rhythm. As a stroke is a primary cause of severe disability in adults, its connection to AF should not be underestimated.

Research shows that the potential of stroke due to AF increases with age. This makes persons over seventy years diagnosed with AF especially at risk. If one suspects AF at any age, seek professional help and get a proper diagnosis. Oral anticoagulation, the mainstay of AF treatment reduces the risk of stroke for those at high risk by 50-70%.

With professional help , the risk of stroke due to AF can be managed and reduced. Ask first to prevent stroke later by paying attention to alerts along the highway to health. This will help your journey to be the best it can be for years to come.