What can cause irregular heart beats?
Atrial fibrillation is the most common cause of abnormal heart rhythm and affects over 1.5 million people in the UK. It can significantly raise your risk of stroke, making early diagnosis essential. In this video, Dr Ravi Assomull explains how atrial fibrillation affects the heart, and how starting the right treatment can reduce your risk of complications.
Learn more about Erratic pulse or book a consultation with Dr Assomull – no GP referral needed, appointments typically within one working day.
Transcript
The commonest cause of irregular heartbeats as opposed to extra heartbeats is a condition called atrial fibrillation. This is the most common heart rhythm disturbance in the United Kingdom, affecting around one and a half million people. The key issue here is we need to detect atrial fibrillation because unfortunately, it is associated with an increased risk of stroke.
We believe that atrial fibrillation can increase your risk of stroke by fivefold, so by making the diagnosis, we can actually start you on treatment that minimises that risk to you.
