Arrhythmia - Atrial Fibrillation

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Arrhythmia - Atrial Fibrillation
Source: National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. nhlbi.nih.gov
Abnormal electrical signals causes the walls of the atria to quiver rapidly, or fibrillate, instead of contracting normally. As a result, the atria don't work efficiently and don't pump all their blood into the ventricles. If all the blood does not flow into the ventricles, the blood that remains, pools in the atria. If blood pools in the atria, clots can form. This increases the risk of stroke because part of a clot can break off and travel to the brain.
During atrial fibrillation, the ventricles continue to contract from the heart's electrical activity.
However, the abnormal electrical signal traveling form the atria through the AV node make the ventricles beat faster than normal, As a result, the ventricles don't pump blood efficiently. This can lead to heart failure.
Atrial Fibrillation happens when the electrical signal begins in a different part of the atrium than the SA node. Abnormal electrical signals tend to begin near the left pulmonary veins, rather than in the SA node.
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