Atrial Fibrillation Treatment

Atrial fibrillation treatment depends upon the type of atrial fibrillation and how long the patient has had atrial fibrillation for.

Sometimes atrial fibrillation starts and stops spontaneously. This type of atrial fibrillation is called paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. Sometimes, atrial fibrillation is sustained. This type of atrial fibrillation is referred to as persistent or chronic atrial fibrillation. No matter the type of atrial fibrillation, the atrial fibrillation treatment goals are the same:

• first to control the heart rate,
• second, to prevent formation of blood clots in the heart, and,
• third, to restore the normal heart rhythm when possible.

There are several approaches to the atrial fibrillation treatment. The first is medications. There are medications and drugs designed to slow down the rapid heart rate resulting from atrial fibrillation. Antiarrhythmic drugs, for example, are medications commonly used in atrial fibrillation treatment. Click here to read more about Antiarrhythmic drugs.

When medications does not improve the symptoms of atrial fibrillation, cardioversion (or electrical cardioversion) may be used to restore the normal rhythm of the heart. The electric shock will help to restore the normal heartbeat.

Also when medications does not work, radiofrequency ablation may help with atrial fibrillation treatment. With this type of atrial fibrillation treatment, a burst of radiofrequency energy is directed to the heart through thin tubes through a blood vessel. This radiofrequency energy destroys tissue that causes abnormal electrical signals.

Sometimes, surgery can be performed to disrupt electrical pathways that cause atrial fibrillation. However, this is a rare atrial fibrillation treatment.

The last atrial fibrillation treatment technique here is putting an atrial pacemaker under the skin. This atrial pacemaker will help regular the heartbeat.