Atrial fibrillation is the most common heart rhythm disorder, with 1 in 3 adults over the age of 55 facing the condition at some point in their life. Although up to 40% don’t experience any symptoms, there are also a number of signs that can point to the condition. These signs can range from being just a nuisance, to severely impacting day-to-day activities.
If left unmanaged, atrial fibrillation significantly increases the risk of stroke, by as much as five times. This means that knowing the symptoms of this condition is vital for the timely detection and treatment.
All symptoms at a glance
Palpitations
The most common symptom of atrial fibrillation is palpitations. This can feel like a fluttering, racing, or irregular feeling in your chest.
Fatigue
Fatigue is another often heard complaint, which is understandable when you consider that the upper chambers of the heart contract rapidly in the case of atrial fibrillation. So much so that the frequency may run up to as much as 300 to 400 contractions per minute. A huge difference with the 60 to 80 contractions of a healthy heart at rest. You may feel as if you have just run a marathon when you haven’t.
Shortness of breath
Shortness of breath is a feeling as though you can’t get enough air. Having to catch your breath after you have just run a sprint is perfectly normal. But to find yourself gasping for air after minor exertion or even without any kind of exertion, is not.
A possible cause of shortness of breath is atrial fibrillation. If your heart is beating very quickly, the ventricles of the heart simply do not get enough time to refill with blood, which means less blood is pumped around your body. Which in turn results in a lack of oxygen.
Malaise
Malaise is best described as a general feeling of discomfort and unease where it is impossible to pinpoint any particular cause. In other words, you just feel miserable.
Dizziness
Feeling light-headed or slightly off balance. When caused by atrial fibrillation, this dizziness can be explained as the heart is pumping out blood with less power. This results in less blood ending up reaching the brain.
Other symptoms
In addition to the symptoms listed above, there are other signs that are less frequently seen. These are:
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Tightness of the chest or chest pain
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Fainting (or feeling like you are about to faint)
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Nausea
So how do I know whether I have got AF?
We have now established which symptoms may point to atrial fibrillation. But we do face two problems:
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Many of the symptoms described above could just as well be an indication of something else. Feeling short of breath and tightness of the chest may also mean you are hyperventilating. And feeling as though you are about to faint can just as easily be due to a sudden drop in your blood sugar level.
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On the other hand, there are people who do not show any symptoms but who do have atrial fibrillation. Actually, this applies to around 40% of those affected by the condition.
So when should you go and see your doctor?
It’s important to ask yourself whether what you are feeling is abnormal in your experience. If the answer is yes, or if you are experiencing more than one symptom at the same time, we would advise you to book an appointment to see your doctor.
Peace of mind thanks to FibriCheck
FibriCheck empowers you to check your heart rhythm whenever and wherever you want, with just a simple 60-second measurement using your own smartphone. We recommend measuring twice each day, and whenever you’re experiencing symptoms. This helps detect atrial fibrillation early on, especially since it’s not always present. The reports you receive from FibriCheck can easily be shared with your physician, who can then further diagnose the condition.
References
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Laila Staerk et al. Lifetime risk of atrial fibrillation according to optimal, borderline, or elevated levels of risk factors: cohort study based on longitudinal data from the Framingham Heart Study, 2018, doi: 10.1136/bmj.k1453.
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Global Burden of Disease Collaborative Network. Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) , 2017.
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Lip GY et al. Prognosis and treatment of atrial fibrillation patients by European cardiologists: one year follow-up of the EURObservational Research Programme-Atrial Fibrillation General Registry Pilot Phase, 2014, doi: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehu374.
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Xiong Q. et al. Asymptomatic versus symptomatic atrial fibrillation: A systematic review of age/gender differences and cardiovascular outcomes, 2015, doi: 10.1016/j.ijcard.2015.05.011.
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2024 ESC Guidelines for the management of atrial fibrillation. Consulted on https://academic.oup.com/eurheartj/article/45/36/3314/7738779
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Win NT, Teo SP. Atrial fibrillation in older patients: reducing stroke risk is not only about anticoagulation. J Geriatr Cardiol, 2016, doi: 10.11909/j.issn.1671-5411.2016.10.004.