A trial fibrillation
Iuliana Ardeleanu, Liviu Macovei, Catalina Arsenescu GeorgescuABSTRACT. Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a topical issue in medical research, the most common cardiac arrhythmia, with an occurrence rate of 1-2% in the general population. Over 6 million Europeans currently have this pathology and in 50 years the prevalence is expected to increase. The pathology is extremely important, especially because of the complications, which are frequent and severe. It is a chronic and progressive disease, with five types representing the evolution in time of this condition, which in the end will generate atrial dilatation, myocardial fibrosis, left ventricular dysfunction and heart failure. It is also a major risk factor for stroke and thromboembolic events. The patients with this arrhythmia have a risk of mortality, morbidity, and a recurrence rate of stroke higher than the other patients with stroke caused by other diseases. However, the risk of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation is not uniform, and an important part of its managements involves the assessment of the risk and the appropriate use of thromboprophylaxis. In the following we will present two cases showing that atrial fibrillation is really a malignant arrhythmia in its consequences, with frequent deadly effects. pp. 129–132
Keywords: atrial fibrillation; stroke; thromboprophylaxis; chronic heart disease