Atrial Fibrillation A Simple Guide to The Condition, Treatment And Related Diseases
Atrial Fibrillation A Simple Guide to The Condition, Treatment And Related Diseases
Overview
Atrial Fibrillation is an abnormal irregular heart beat
Lung diseases and hyperthyroidism contributes to it
It is caused by coronary heart disease and other heart condition
Other causes are congenital heart disease and systemic afflictions
Typically there is fast heart beats and sense of palpitations
There may chest pains and difficulty in respiration
There may congestive heart failure and ankle swelling
There are irregular heart beats and fainting
Both atrial chambers are enlarged due to irregular heart conditions
ECG will confirm the presence of atrial fibrillation
Treatment is to prevent the throwing out of blood clots
These blood clots can cause heart attacks and stroke
Treatment is usually with digoxin, dilatrend and aspirin
Sometimes you may have to use the blood thinner warfarin
Which while good and cheap can cause severe bleeding
Cardioversion and pacemaker procedures may be more lasting.
-An original poem by Kenneth Kee
Interesting Tips about Atrial Fibrillation
A Healthy Lifestyle
1. Take a well Balanced Diet
2. The treatment of atrial fibrillation is aimed at
a. Regulating the heart beat and rhythm- digoxin, dilatrend, beta blockers
b. Preventing blood clots to be thrown out in the blood stream -anticoagulants
c. In cases of uncontrolled tachycardia, immediate cardio version may be done.
Regulating the heart beat:
a. Rate control
Rate control is by drugs to reduce the heart rate to 60 to 100bpm without changing to a regular rhythm.
The medications work by blocking the AV node reducing the electrical impulses to the ventricles.
b. Beta blockers such as metoprolol, atenolol, bisoprolol
c. Cardiac glycosides (digoxin)
d .Calcium channel blockers (i.e. diltiazem or verapamil)
e. Amiodarone has AV node blocking effects which can be used
Rhythm control work to restore the regular heart rhythm and maintain it with drugs.
The anti-arrhythmic medications make the heart tissue less excitable.
Prevention of blood clots in blood stream:
Anticoagulation with drugs as below reduce the risk of blood clots being thrown out from the heart and blocking the passage of blood in the arteries of the heart or brain
a. Aspirin
b. Clopidogrel in those who are allergic to aspirin
3. Keep bones and body strong
Bone marrow produces our blood
Eat foods rich in calcium like yogurt, cheese, milk, and dark green vegetables.
Eat foods rich in Vitamin D, like eggs, fatty fish, cereal, and fortified milk.
Eat food rich in Vitamins B and C such as green vegetables and fruits
Zinc and other minerals are important to the body
4. Get enough rest and Sleep
Avoid stress and tension
5. Exercise and stay active.
It is best to do weight-bearing exercise such as walking, jogging, stair climbing, dancing, or lifting weights for 2½ hours a week.
One way to do this is to be active 30 minutes a day at least 5 days a week.
6. Do not drink more than 2 alcohol drinks a day for a man or 1 alcohol drink a day for a woman.
Alcohol use also increases the chance of falling and breaking a bone.
7. Stop or do not begin smoking.
It also interferes with blood supply and healing.
Chapter 1
Atrial Fibrillation
Atrial Fibrillation is a heart condition where the disordered electrical impulses of the atrial muscle lead to irregular electrical impulses to the ventricular heart muscles resulting in irregular heart beats.
Age: 8% of people over 80 have AF
Family history of AF increases risk by 30%.
Atrial Fibrillation is caused by underlying heart conditions such as:
1. Primary heart diseases:
a. Coronary artery disease
b. Mitral stenosis
c. Mitral regurgitation
d. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
e. Pericarditis
f. Congenital heart disease
g. Previous heart surgery
2. Hypertension (High blood pressure)
3. Lung diseases such as
a. Pneumonia,
b. Lung cancer,
c. Pulmonary embolism,
d. Sarcoidosis
4. Excessive alcohol consumption
5. Hyperthyroidism
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940046473827 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Kenneth Kee |
| Publication date: | 12/19/2014 |
| Sold by: | Smashwords |
| Format: | eBook |
| File size: | 140 KB |
About the Author
Medical doctor since 1972.
Started Kee Clinic in 1974 at 15 Holland Dr #03-102, relocated to 36 Holland Dr #01-10 in 2009.
Did my M.Sc (Health Management ) in 1991 and Ph.D (Healthcare Administration) in 1993.
Dr Kenneth Kee is still working as a family doctor at the age of 74
However he has reduced his consultation hours to 3 hours in the morning and 2 hours in
the afternoon.
He first started writing free blogs on medical disorders seen in the clinic in 2007 on http://kennethkee.blogspot.com.
His purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of his patients which is also his dissertation for his Ph.D (Healthcare Administration). He then wrote an autobiography account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.com
This autobiography account “A Family Doctor’s Tale” was combined with his early “A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders” into a new Wordpress Blog “A Family Doctor’s Tale” on http://ken-med.com.
From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 1000 eBooks.
He apologized for typos and spelling mistakes in his earlier books.
He will endeavor to improve the writing in futures.
Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.
For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.
The later books go into more details of medical disorders.
He has published 1000 eBooks on various subjects on health, 1 autobiography of his medical journey, another on the autobiography of a Cancer survivor, 2 children stories and one how to study for his nephew and grand-daughter.
The purpose of these simple guides is to educate patient on health disorders and not meant as textbooks.
He does not do any night duty since 2000 ever since Dr Tan had his second stroke.
His clinic is now relocated to the Buona Vista Community Centre.
The 2 units of his original clinic are being demolished to make way for a new Shopping Mall.
He is now doing some blogging and internet surfing (bulletin boards since the 1980's) starting
with the Apple computer and going to PC.
The entire PC is upgraded by himself from XT to the present Pentium duo core.
The present Intel i7 CPU is out of reach at the moment because the CPU is still expensive.
He is also into DIY changing his own toilet cistern and other electric appliance.
His hunger for knowledge has not abated and he is a lifelong learner.
The children have all grown up and there are 2 grandchildren who are even more technically advanced than the grandfather where mobile phones are concerned.
This book is taken from some of the many articles in his blog (now with 740 posts) A Family Doctor’s Tale.
Dr Kee is the author of:
"A Family Doctor's Tale"
"Life Lessons Learned From The Study And Practice Of Medicine"
"Case Notes From A Family Doctor"