![]() Seek treatment for any diseases you have that contribute to AFib and AFL such as sleep apnea, hyperthyroidism, diabetes, or hypertension. Limit your alcohol and caffeine consumption.Reach and maintain a body weight that is healthy for you.Start and maintain a pattern of consistent physical activity.Follow an eating plan low in salt, cholesterol, saturated fat, and trans fats.If you have either condition, you should take the following steps: The American Heart Association recommends the same plan of care for AFib and AFL. Treatment Guidelines for Atrial Flutter and AFib Moreover, AFL carries a lower risk of clot formation than AFib because of the presence of flutter waves. Wolf Parkinson White Syndrome (another type of abnormality in the heart’s electrical conduction system)īoth AFib and AFL place you at risk for stroke because of the potential for the development of blood clots arising from incomplete emptying of blood from the atria into the ventricles.Moreover, AFL patients have an elevated risk of AFib occurring in the future.Īccording to physicians, the risk factors for AFib and AFL are identical and include the following: AFL also has a higher probability of reverting to a normal rhythm. If you have AFib, you can experience periods of AFL that start and stop without warning, and if you have AFL, it can flip into AFib. In both conditions, people can experience mild symptoms or none. These P waves, called flutter waves, look like the teeth on a saw, with many failing to reach the ventricles because of the speed at which they occur.ĪFib and AFL have almost the same symptoms, such as:Ītrial flutter symptoms tend to be less severe than those associated with AFib. In AFL, the P waves are visible, but there are two to four of these for every QRS wave instead of the 1:1 ratio seen on an ECG representing a normal heart rhythm.In AF, the P wave is invisible, and the QRS waves appear at frequent, irregular intervals, which produces the standard fast and chaotic heart rate.The tall, slender peak after the P wave, called the QRS wave, represents a contraction of the ventricles.ĪFib and AFL appear very different when viewed on an electrocardiogram (ECG). On an electrocardiogram (ECG), the small hump-shaped spike, called the P wave, represents a contraction of the atria. ![]() Individuals with AFL have a fast but regular pulse, while people with AFib have both a rapid and irregular pulse. Furthermore, the atria fire so fast (240 – 360 beats per minute) that only every 2 nd to 4 th impulse reaches the ventricles, producing contractions at a rate of roughly 150 beats per minute. In AFL, the sources generating electrical signals are fewer, allowing the atria to contract instead of vibrating. The reduced volume of blood transported to the ventricles further decreases the amount the heart pumps to the rest of the body by around 10 percent, posing a significant problem during physical exertion. The random signals received from the atria then cause the ventricles to contract in an irregular pattern that ranges from 100 to 275 beats per minute. Instead of contracting after accepting the incoming signal, the atria vibrate (fibrillate), which produces insufficient blood flow into the ventricles. In AFib, the electrical signals originate from many regions near the atria, with only a few of these random impulses transmitted to the atria. Heart rates in AFib are unlike those seen in AFL because of a difference in the heart’s electrical activity. AFib usually starts in the left atrium whereas AFL begins in the right atrium.īoth conditions share similar symptoms, although atrial flutter symptoms tend to be milder. The primary difference between atrial flutter and atrial fibrillation relate to variations in heart rate seen when looking at an electrocardiogram reading. AFL happens less often, and 33 percent of people who suffer from it will also experience AFib.īoth arrhythmias have the potential to cause severe problems, and a physician should address each one as soon as you notice either occurring. Also, both AFib and AFL can occur when there is no evidence of a heart problem.ĪFib is the more common of the two conditions, occurring in less than one percent of adults. These conditions are often the result of issues that cause the enlargement of the atria. Atrial tachycardias are conditions that trigger the two upper chambers of the heart called the atria to contract at speeds higher than 100 beats per minute. Atrial Fibrillation: Understanding the Similarities and DifferencesĪtrial fibrillation (AFib) and atrial flutter (AFL) are the two most frequent types of heart arrhythmias known as atrial tachycardias.
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