Atrial fibrillation, or AFib, is a rapid, irregular heartbeat that causes the blood to pool in your heart. This can allow clots to form that can travel to your brain and cause a stroke.

There are a number of risk factors for AFib, including being over 60 years or age or having diabetes, high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure or prior heart attacks.

But even seemingly unrelated conditions can increase the risk of AFib including thyroid disease or a serious infection.

If you suffer from migraine with aura you can be up to 30 percent more likely to develop AFib than those who don’t have headaches.

You may not give AFib much thought, but considering it’s been on the rise, it’s a condition that warrants our attentions…

Three times as many AFib sufferers

According to new estimates from UC San Francisco (UCSF), AFib has been on the rise for the past decade. In fact, it may be three times more common than previously thought.

UCSF’s latest estimate put the number of U.S. adults with AFib at roughly 10.5 million, or nearly 5 percent of the U.S. population.

After reviewing the medical records of nearly 30 million adult patients in California from 2005 to 2019, researchers found about 2 million of them had been diagnosed with AFib. They saw that numbers rose from 4.49% among patients treated between 2005 and 2009 to 6.82% of patients treated between 2015 and 2019. That’s a pretty significant jump.

They also noticed that AFib patients tended to be younger and were less likely to be female and more likely to have hypertension and diabetes.

When they standardized the data to reflect the entire U.S., the researchers estimated the current national prevalence of AFib to be at least 10.55 million.

Now, that makes AFib still pretty uncommon. Compare that 5 percent estimate with the roughly half of Americans aged 45 to 84 estimated to have some level of atherosclerosis.

But given how serious AFib can be, the increase in cases is definitely cause for concern. Some complications associated with AFib include shortness of breath, light-headedness, blood clots, and even heart failure. Most frightening is that people with AFib are up to five times more likely to have a stroke.

“Atrial fibrillation doubles the risk of mortality, is one of the most common causes of stroke, increases risks of heart failure, myocardial infarction, chronic kidney disease and dementia, and results in lower quality of life,” says first author Dr. Jean Jacques Noubiap, a postdoctoral scholar at UCSF with a specialty in global cardiovascular health.

“Fortunately, atrial fibrillation is preventable, and early detection and appropriate treatment can substantially reduce its adverse outcomes,” Noubiap says.

Be proactive about AFib

To avoid becoming one of those increasing number of AFib cases, there are a few things you can do. First, if you have high blood pressure or diabetes, ensure these conditions are managed well and practice healthy lifestyle habits like good diet and exercise.

But also be aware of symptoms that could indicate AFib and discuss them with your doctor, including:

• Extreme fatigue
• An irregular heartbeat
• Heart palpitations
• The feeling of butterflies or a fish flopping in your chest
• Dizziness or lightheadedness
• Fainting (syncope)
• Shortness of breath
• Chest pain

Be persistent with your doctor, especially if you’re a woman. The University of British Columbia Okanagan found that 77 percent of female participants in a study suffered AFib symptoms for more than a year before being diagnosed by their doctors.

Consider having your vitamin D levels tested. One study found that taking vitamin D. lowered AFib risk by between 27 and 32 percent. Vitamin D is well-known to be heart-protective in general.

Finally, try adding nuts to your diet. Research found that people who ate nuts three times per week or more reduced their atrial fibrillation risk by 19 percent.

Sources:

Atrial fibrillation estimated to be three times more common than previously thought — Medical Xpress

Minimum National Prevalence of Diagnosed Atrial Fibrillation Inferred From California Acute Care Facilities — Journal of the American College of Cardiology

Risk Factors for Atrial Fibrillation (AFib) — Heart Rhythm Society

Atherosclerosis — Cleveland Clinic