What is atrial fibrillation?
In this video, Dr Ravi Assomull, a leading private cardiologist in London, explains what atrial fibrillation is and why it increases stroke risk. He outlines how the atria stop contracting normally and begin to fibrillate, allowing clots to form and travel to the brain. Clear guidance from a trusted London heart specialist.
Learn more about Fast heartbeats or book a consultation with Dr Assomull – no GP referral needed, appointments typically within one working day.
Transcript
Atrial fibrillation is the most common heart rhythm disorder affecting people in this country. We believe it affects 1.5 million people currently, with unfortunately around 370,000 people totally unaware they even have it. It's critical to know you've got atrial fibrillation because unfortunately having this diagnosis increases your risk of stroke.
What do I mean when I say atrial fibrillation? Well, very simply, what normally happens is the collecting chambers of the heart, the atria, contracts in a synchronised fashion. In atrial fibrillation, that stops and the atria starts shaking around, they start fibrillating.
Now, when the atria starts fibrillating, what happens is clots can form in the heart because the blood is stagnant. And the real risk here is those clots can be propagated from the collecting chambers of the heart to the pumping chambers of the heart and outwards into the brain where it can cause a large and life-changing stroke.
