Mayo Clinic Minute Identifying and treating atrial fibrillation - Mayo Clinic

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Mayo Clinic Minute Identifying and treating atrial fibrillation

Products and services Mayo Clinic electrophysiologist Fred Kusumoto, M.D., explains what happens in the heart to create atrial fibrillation and what can be done to fix it. MODERATOR: This is a normal heartbeat. [HEART BEATING] Atrial fibrillation interrupts this regular beat. FRED KUSUMOTO, M.D.: "In atrial fibrillation, instead of the atria squeezing in a normal regular fashion, the atria beat irregularly and chaotically." MODERATOR: Dr. Fred Kusumoto is an electrophysiologist at Mayo Clinic. FRED KUSUMOTO, M.D.: "In some cases people feel their heart palpitating or beating very, very fast or a flip-flop in their heart or chest area. Other times, people just notice that they're more short of breath when they walk upstairs." MODERATOR: Dr. Kusumoto says atrial fibrillation decreases the heart's blood pumping efficiency and puts a patient at higher risk for blood clots, heart failure, and stroke. In some cases, atrial fibrillation can be corrected with medication or by administering a shock to a sedated patient's heart. In other instances, a procedure called catheter ablation may be used to scar tissue that's creating the erratic signals--[HEART BEATING]-- in the hopes of getting back to that normal beat. ShareTweet Jan. 08, 2022

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