BACKGROUND: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a disorder in which the heart’s two small upper chambers (the atria) quiver instead of beating effectively. Because blood is not pumped completely out of the atria, there is a chance it may pool and clot.

Most commonly, AF causes cardioembolic strokes – those caused by a clot that escapes from the heart and blocks a blood vessel in the brain. Blood clots are known to form when blood remains static for prolonged periods of time or as a result of turbulent blood flow, both of which can happen during the erratic beat of an atrial fibrillation.

About 2.2 million Americans suffer from AF. The likelihood of developing AF increases with age, high blood pressure, diabetes and other conditions.

Sufferers usually have a significantly increased risk of stroke, up to seven times than that of the general population. AF is often asymptomatic and it not generally life -hreatening, but it can result in palpitations, fainting, chest pain or congestive heart failure.

HOW AF IS DIAGNOSED? Atrial fibrillation is easily diagnosed with an electrocardiogram (EKG). If a patient has AF, the test will show a rapid and irregular heartbeat; contractions of the hearts upper chambers ranging between 300 and 500 per minute and contractions of the lower chambers, or pulse rate, ranging from 120 to 170 beats per minute.

TREATMENT: Atrial fibrillation may be treated with medications, either to slow the heart rate or revert the heart rhythm back to normal. Use of the blood thinner Coumadin (warfarin) has been considered standard medical treatment to reduce the risk if stroke in AF patients, but it is associated with increased risk of bleeding problems. Surgery can be used to disrupt electrical pathways that generate AF; in addition, atrial pacemakers can be implanted under the skin to regulate the heart rhythm.

A NEW OPTION: The WATCHMAN Left Atrial Appendage System, developed by Atritech, Inc., is designed to form a mechanical barrier that seals off the entrance to the appendage and prevent clots from forming.

The device is a fabric-covered metal cage and is threaded through a leg vein, through the blood vessels into the heart. Once it reaches the heart, the umbrella-like device opens, plugging the entrance to the appendage, and the catheter is withdrawn.

In a study at Duke University, the Watchman was at least as good at preventing strokes as Coumadin. However, the procedure to implant the Watchman led to strokes in some patients and complications and side effects were twice as common with the device as with Coumadin.

Doctors are still impressed and feel the Watchman “could help as many as two-thirds of those who have a heartbeat problem,” Dr. Richard Page, cardiology chief at the University of Washington Seattle, was quoted saying. About 90 percent of device patients were able to go off Coumadin.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Advanced Center for Atrial Fibrillation
3001 W. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.
Tampa, FL 33607
(813) 877-AFIB