4 factors in treating atrial fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation is a common heart rhythm disorder that affects nearly 200,000 Canadians. If you experience an A-Fib episode, here are four things you should do to reduce your health risks.

There are a number of common-sense, everyday strategies you can follow to make your heart healthier.

• Adjust your diet. Reduce the saturated fats, cholesterol and trans fatty acids that you eat. Concentrate on fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains; they should be 60 percent of your diet
• Reduce your sodium intake. Salt can often raise your blood pressure, compounding any A-Fib problem you might have
• Control your weight. Excess pounds are taxing on the heart
• Exercise vigorously. Try it for 30 minutes a day, three to four times a week, to keep your heart healthy and your blood pressure down
• De-stress. Adopt some relaxation exercises or stress management techniques, such as yoga, tai chi or meditation

• Are there certain activities (e.g., sports or sex) that I should avoid? If so, for how long?
• Are there other changes in my lifestyle that I should be making?
• Am I a candidate to take an anticoagulant?
• Will I need a pacemaker?

• An episode of atrial fibrillation probably doesn't mean you have heart disease
• In many cases, a single, isolated case of A-Fib is triggered by something unrelated to your heart (binge drinking, for example). And when that problem is treated or corrected, the fibrillation goes away
• A full diagnostic workup, including an ECG (electrocardiogram) by a cardiologist, is warranted in any case to rule out under­lying coronary heart disease, a heart valve problem or other heart-related conditions

• You won't necessarily have to take heart rhythm medications for the rest of your life
• If doctors can restore a normal heartbeat and your heart rhythm stabilizes, you may be able to stop taking medication and see what happens
• If episodes of A-Fib continue to occur, however, you'll probably need long-term medication

Today, thanks to highly effective treatments, most people with A-Fib are able to get their heart beating regularly and drastically reduce the risk of developing serious complications.