Atrial fibrillation on the ECG. Atrial flutter

Violations of the normal functioning of cardiac activity is an urgent problem throughout the world. Most often they develop in old age, but can also occur in young people, children. As is known from the statistics, the pathologies of the cardiovascular system are one of the main causes of mortality. Therefore, doctors all over the world are searching for new methods for preventing such diseases. It is also important to help slow the development of the disease and maintain state compensation as long as possible.

In recent years, for screening of cardiac pathologies, a screening study is conducted for the entire adult population, regardless of age. On an outpatient basis, each patient undergoes electrocardiography (ECG) at a frequency of 1 time per year in the absence of complaints. If heart diseases are detected, a person is registered, and all studies are conducted more often, treatment is prescribed. Patients often have atrial fibrillation on the ECG. Synonym for this condition is atrial fibrillation.

What is atrial fibrillation?

Atrial fibrillation is one of the most common types of arrhythmias on ECG. According to statistics, it is observed in 1-2% of the population. To a greater extent, people aged 40 years and older are affected by this rhythm disturbance. Sometimes atrial fibrillation is asymptomatic, and the patient does not know about the presence of pathology. In some cases, atrial fibrillation is so severe that it requires urgent hospitalization and urgent measures. The course of pathology depends on its shape and general condition of the patient. Atrial fibrillation (fibrillation) occurs due to increased excitability of the atrial tissue. As a consequence, chaotic pathological contractions appear. Most often, atrial fibrillation is combined with other cardiac pathologies.

Normal ECG: description and interpretation

Electrocardiography is the main method for diagnosing heart disease. It is performed with suspected ischemia, myocardial infarction, various arrhythmias and other cardiac pathologies. The ECG method is based on the recording of potentials from the heart surface. Due to the evaluation of electrical activity, it is possible to judge the state of different parts of the myocardium. Normal ECG is observed in healthy people. In addition, there are a number of pathologies that are not detected by electrocardiography. Nevertheless, most of the diseases are registered on the ECG. The doctor of any specialty can describe the results of this examination, nevertheless it is recommended to carry out the decoding to cardiologists.

ECG is a horizontal line with teeth and intervals. There are 12 leads, from the surface of which come electrical impulses. The p-tooth on the ECG is responsible for the atrial excitation. After it, a small interval P-Q is recorded. It characterizes the coverage by excitation of the interatrial septum. Further, the QRS complex is observed. It is characterized by electrical excitation of the ventricles. It is followed by a relaxation time of the heart muscle - repolarization. It consists of the ST interval and the T wave. Normally, each ECG element should have a certain width (time) and height (amplitude). Changes in at least one indicator in one lead indicate a pathology.

How does atrial fibrillation look on the ECG?

Atrial fibrillation is a pathological condition in which there are extraordinary chaotic myocardial arousals. This is a violation of the normal rhythm. Atrial fibrillation on the ECG is characterized by a change in the P wave, instead of it, f-waves appear (they are located between the QRS complexes in large numbers), while the normal P tooth should be 1 before each ventricular excitation. In addition, with fibrillation there is a violation of the normal rhythm of the heart. This is reflected in the ECG in that the distances between the RRs in the same lead are not the same in width (time).

The difference between fibrillation and atrial flutter

In addition to fibrillation, there is a rhythm disturbance, like atrial flutter. On the ECG these 2 pathologies differ. Atrial flutter (TP) is a pathological condition in which there is a significant increase in the frequency of heart contractions (200-400 beats per minute). Usually it occurs in the form of sudden attacks - paroxysms. TP is characterized by sudden development and self-termination. It refers to varieties of supraventricular tachycardia. When the attack develops, the patient needs to provide first aid. Atrial flutter on the ECG differs from fibrillation in that pathological excitations have a greater frequency and amplitude (F-wave). In this case, the rhythm of the heart remains correct. The distances between RR are the same.

Symptoms of Atrial Fibrillation

There are 3 forms of atrial fibrillation. They differ in magnitude of heart rate. Allocate:

1. Tahisystolic form. The heart rate is more than 90 beats per minute.
2. The normosystolic form. The heart rate ranges from 60 to 90 beats per minute.
3. Bradisystolic form. Occurs less often than others. The heart rate is less than 60 beats per minute.

The signs of atrial fibrillation depend on how much the ventricular function is impaired. At a paroxysm of a ciliary arrhythmia the sudden acceleration of pulse, a feeling of palpitation, a shiver and the raised sweating, a dyspnea, a pain in a breast, a giddiness are noted. With severe tachycardia, loss of consciousness, development of ONMC, myocardial infarction is possible. A large number of people have a normosystolic form of atrial fibrillation. Clinical symptoms are most often absent.

Treatment of atrial fibrillation

Despite the fact that atrial fibrillation often occurs asymptomatically, it increases the risk of thrombosis and the development of myocardial infarction. Therefore, with atrial fibrillation, antiplatelet agents are prescribed. Among them - preparations "Aspirin-cardio", "Tromboass". To correct the heart rate with tachycardia prescribe antiarrhythmic drugs. Most often these are the medicines Coronale, Metoprolol, Amiodarone. With continuous atrial fibrillation, surgical treatment is recommended.