Hello and welcome to the zero to finals podcast.

My name is Tom and in this episode I'm going to be talking to you about atrial fibrillation.

And you can find written notes on this topic at zero to finals.com slash a.

Or in the cardiology section of the zero to finals medicine book.

So let's get straight into it.

Atrial fibrillation or AF is a condition where the electrical activity in the atria of the heart

becomes disorganized, leading to fibrillation, which is random muscle twitching of the atria and an

irregularly irregular pulse. The overall effects of atrial fibrillation are irregularly irregular

ventricular contractions, tachycardia or a fast heart rate, heart failure due to impaired filling of the

ventricles during diastole when the ventricles are relaxing, and an increased risk of stroke.

Let's talk about the pathophysiology. Normally the sinoatrial node produces organized electrical activity

that coordinates the contraction of the atria. Atrial fibrillation occurs when this electrical

activity is disorganized, causing the contraction of the atria to become uncoordinated, rapid and irregular.

This chaotic electrical activity overrides the regular, organized activity from the

sinoatrial node. The disorganized electrical activity passes through to the ventricles, resulting

in irregularly irregular ventricular contraction.

Uncoordinated atrial activity means the blood can stagnate in the atria, forming a blood clot

or thrombus. A thrombus formed in the left atrium may travel to the brain and block a cerebral

artery, resulting in an

eschemic stroke. The risk of stroke is about five times higher than usual in patients with

atrial fibrillation, depending on their individual factors. Let's talk about the common causes.

The most common causes of atrial fibrillation can be remembered

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