Our live chats with the Cleveland Clinic afib experts are always popular, so please join us for the next one on March 2, 2018.
Irregular or abnormal heartbeats, called arrhythmias, occur when there are abnormal electrical impulses in your heart, causing your heart to beat too fast, too slow, or irregularly. Arrhythmias are very common and are often a mere annoyance, but they can also be responsible for life-threatening medical emergencies.
The most common irregular heart rhythm is called atrial fibrillation (AF or Afib) and involves the two upper chambers (atria) of the heart. Over 2 million Americans are affected by Afib, which is responsible for 15% of all strokes.
Treatment depends on the type and severity of the arrhythmia. Treatment options may include medications, lifestyle changes, invasive procedures, electrical devices or surgery. In some cases, no treatment will be necessary.
Take this opportunity to learn more about atrial fibrillation, including diagnosis and treatments, and have your questions answered by Oussama Wazni, MD and Mandeep Bhargava, MD from the Cleveland Clinic, and Mellanie True Hills, Founder and CEO of StopAfib.org.
To learn more, see: Atrial fibrillation experts from the Cleveland Clinic will answer your afib questions on March 2, 2018
Note: Please do not post your questions for the Cleveland Clinic doctors here.
80 yr old male in constant Afib. Had 1 cardioversion & Sotolol for 1 year, neither worked. First day on this website. Am not computer savvy, but would love to be in on C. C. A. F. Chat Page today. How do I do that?
Hi William,
We hope that you were able to participate in the Cleveland Clinic chat on Friday. If not, we will be posting a transcript of the chat as soon as we are able to, and will post it here: https://www.stopafib.org/news.cfm.
You may be interested in joining our patient discussion forum (http://forum.stopafib.org/index.php) to connect with other patients who collectively have a great amount of knowledge and experience. You may want to post your story and questions there, and you may also learn a lot from others who have already shared their experience. You’ll need to join to see and participate in the discussion. To do so, go to forum.stopafib.org, and click on the big red button that says, “Sign Up”. Once you sign up by registering your email address, your preferred username, and a password, you’ll receive an email to confirm your interest in joining the forum. Click on the confirmation link in that email, and you are ready to go. You’ll be able to log into the forum, read the discussions, and participate. I hope that you are able to find others to connect with there that can give you advice, suggestions, and hope.
You can find additional instructions here: https://www.stopafib.org/newsitem.cfm/NEWSID/623
Please let us know if we can help you any further, William. We wish you sinus rhythm.
If a person has Afib…what can be done in an emergency situation?
Hi Jack,
To find out advice and suggestions that a person who has afib might do in an emergency situation, you may be interested in joining our patient discussion forum (http://forum.stopafib.org/index.php) to connect with other patients who collectively have a great amount of knowledge and experience. You may want to post your story and questions there, and you may also learn a lot from others who have already shared their experience.
You’ll need to join to see and participate in the discussion. To do so, go to forum.stopafib.org, and click on the big red button that says, “Sign Up”. Once you sign up by registering your email address, your preferred username, and a password, you’ll receive an email to confirm your interest in joining the forum. Click on the confirmation link in that email, and you are ready to go. You’ll be able to log into the forum, read the discussions, and participate. I hope that you are able to find others to connect with there that can give you advice, suggestions, and hope.
There are many resources on living with afib that you might find helpful.
For more information on afib and afib management, we have many resources available to you.
• News Stories on afib http://www.stopafib.org/news.cfm
• Patient Resources at MyAfibExperience.org
• Afib Blog
• Video Presentations from the 2015 Atrial Fibrillation Patient Event
Best of luck to you! We wish you sinus rhythm.