Can atrial fibrillation go away by itself?

Atrial fibrillation is an extremely common heart rhythm disorder that affects a large number of the general population. In this article here, Dr Mark Gallagher, an esteemed consultant cardiologist, discusses what causes atrial fibrillation, and tells us how ablation used to treat the condition.

What is atrial fibrillation?

Atrial fibrillation is a very common medical problem. It is a disturbance of the heart rhythm that affects quite a large chunk of the general population. It mainly affects the elderly, but is somewhat less disturbing because they are generally less mobile.

It is an arrhythmia that reduces the efficiency of the heart, and as a result, the patient struggles to exercise. They cannot maintain a good level of cardiac function during exercise, and makes people short of breath while exercising and sometimes even when resting.

It is associated with quite a deterioration in a patient’s quality of life. It can affect at least one person in every one hundred. It is associated with electrical activity running in circles in a chaotic way in the atria. This chaotic activity is usually triggered by abnormal impulses arising in the pulmonary vein.

What causes atrial fibrillation?

High blood pressure, being overweight, a high intake of alcohol, and an overactive thyroid are common causes. However, when we investigate a patient with atrial fibrillation, we see that there are no actual cases. Age is also a big risk factor.

How is ablation used to treat atrial fibrillation?

Ablation is a very focused therapy that aims to eliminate an area of muscle in the heart that is provoking atrial fibrillation. In atrial fibrillation, the problem largely lies in the veins that drain the blood from the lungs back into the atria. We can usually isolate the problem by drawing a line of destruction essentially around those veins, so that the muscle in that area is destroyed and no longer capable of producing electric impulses.

What is the benefit of using ablation to treat atrial fibrillation?

Ablation is a potential cure for atrial fibrillation, and is not always a permanent cure. Ablation can offer at least long-term relief.

What are other treatment options for atrial fibrillation?

One can treat it with medication, or can alternatively just put up with the atrial fibrillation. It is associated across the population with mortality. However, there is no concrete evidence to suggest that this is caused directly by atrial fibrillation.

Can atrial fibrillation go away by itself?

It doesn’t tend to go away by itself. The only way it can go away by itself is if a very noticeable and problematic underlying cause of the atrial fibrillation is dealt with.

Dr Mark Gallagher is an esteemed London-based consultant cardiologist who can help detect what might be causing your atrial fibrillation. Contact him today via his Top Doctors profile to book a consultation with him.