Thread by @ACCinTouch

September is #AFibAwarenessMonth!
A🧵on the basics of #AFib

#ACCEP #EPeeps #CardioTwitter

#AFib is the most common sustained heart rhythm problem in the world. 🌎

#AFib increases the risk of #stroke & #heartfailure. It causes symptoms like fatigue, dizziness & shortness of breath and can reduce patients’ quality of life.

Rapid heart rates are a result of #AFib, which causes many of its symptoms. For some patients slowing the rate helps, but for many normal rhythm needs to be restored.

How to restore normal rhythm after #AFib?

1⃣ Cardioversion
2⃣ Medications
3⃣ Ablation

#Cardioversion:
✅ Used for acute management
✅ Restores normal rhythm for most pts
✅ Requires medication or ablation if #AFib reoccurs
✅ Performed under a sedative to avoid discomfort
✅ Outpatient procedure in most cases w/ pts going home after 1 hr of observation

Medications:
✅ Efficacy rate at maintaining normal rhythm over several yrs of follow-up is <70%
✅ Patients can have significant side effects from meds
✅ Some meds are taken daily & some can be taken at time of an episode

#Ablation:
✅ Outpatient procedure w/ most patients going home the same day or staying overnight for observation
✅ Catheter procedure
✅ Data shows higher success rates compared to medications

#AFib Ablation:
1⃣ Catheters are placed through the femoral veins & positioned in the heart
2⃣ Ultrasound, electrical signals & 3-dimensional mapping are used to do #ablation

#Epeeps

The most important part of #AFib ablation is electrically isolating the pulmonary veins from the rest of the heart. ♥️

#Ablation can be done with different types of energies:
1⃣ Radiofrequency
2⃣ Cryoablation
3⃣ Laser

The most recent guidelines support #AFib ablation for select patients as both a 1st line therapy for AFib symptom control & for patients failing medication therapy.

#AFib is a complex condition w/ multiple tx options. For many patients, ablation is appropriate choice. Tx of associated conditions like #hypertension, #diabetes & #SleepApnea are🔑interventions which help maintain sinus rhythm. Weight loss &🏃‍♀️have been shown to⬇️recurrence

Shared-decision making is 🔑

Share with your patients the #CardioSmart materials on #SDM: cardiosmart.org/topics/decisio…

and this video on #AFib:

#ACCEP #Epeeps #CardioTwitter