Atrial Fibrillation (AF) causes up to one third of hospitalizations for arrhythmias. When you have atrial fibrillation is increased by 5 times the risk of developing a cerebrovascular event, so you need to have a timely and appropriate medical evaluation and implement specialized treatments that reduce this risk and its complications. Failure to treating atrial fibrillation may represent high costs of hospitalization and decreased quality of life of patients. For example, a study by the Economic and Financial Analysis Consulting Group, Inc. of Boston, found that patients with AF represented a cost five times more for their insurance.

“Early treatment of AF reduces hospital costs by up to 21% and significantly increase the quality of life of patients. Therefore we recommend that if you have risk factors such as hypertension or heart disease and heart failure among others as well as irregular heartbeat, shortness of breath, chest pain, dizziness or fainting, it is important that you visit your doctor and avoid other more severe condition, it is important to note that up to 30% of patients who develop atrial fibrillation may not have symptoms, “said Dr. Santiago Nava Townsend, cardiologists and ABC Center neurophysiologist.

The FA is defined as an arrhythmia characterized by uncoordinated atrial activation with consequent deterioration of the function of contraction of the heart. In normal hearts, electrical impulses occur in a coordinated manner while in patients with AF instead of generating an electrical impulse only unleash more, resulting in a rapid, irregular heartbeat. During an episode of AF recorded up to 300 heart beats per minute, while in a healthy heart beats between 60 and 80 times per minute.

In 2005 the FA generated 350 000 hospitalizations and 5 million ambulatory monitoring in the United States, not counting that 70% of all emergencies generated by the disease are hospitalized, which increases the cost considerably. It is also estimated that 2.3 million adult Americans suffer from atrial fibrillation and that number is projected to increase to over 6 million by the year 20 502.

According to the National Institute of Cardiology (INC) in Mexico in 100 hypertensive patients, at least 10 have FA, its prevalence is estimated at 0.4% of the population, also associated with hypertension in at least 10% of all cases. 1 in 4 over age 70 will experience atrial fibrillation.

This condition is the third entity in frequency following cardiovascular heart disease and heart failure, becoming the most common sustained arrhythmia, with 500 thousand new cases in the U.S. each year, according to a study by the Center for Epidemiological Research Foundation Marshfield Clinic Research (EU).

This arrhythmia is more prevalent in people between 65 and 85 years, develops in those with risk factors such as hypertension and obesity include: Atrial fibrillation is often associated with other heart diseases like heart failure and congenital or acquired heart valves.

AF is a condition that requires special attention, because without proper treatment the patient may die or suffer a huge decline in their quality of life due to a stroke that can leave you disabled.