Management of AF Flashcards
What type of tachycardia is AF?
Supraventricular
What are the common causes of AF?
Excessive alcohol consumption
CHD
Thyrotoxicosis
50% of AF cases are asymptomatic. What are some of the symptoms that AF patients may present with?
Syncope
Dyspnoea
Half notice palpitations
Patients with AF are 5 times more likely to have a stroke. True or false?
True
What is meant by a lone AF?
Single episode
Structurally normal heart
Low risk of thromboembolic event
What is meant by paroxysmal AF?
Spontaneous termination within 7 days
What is meant by persistent AF?
Non-self terminating and is persistent for over 7 days
What is meant by permanent AF?
Non-terminated or terminated and relapsed
How long does acute AF last for?
Less than 48 hours
How is paroxysmal AF treated?
B-blocker or rate limiting CCB
What is the aim of treatment in paroxysmal AF?
Reduce frequency of self-limiting episodes
Prevent the occurrence
Control ventricular rate during episodes
What is the aim for treatment of persistent/permanent AF?
Heart rate control
What is first line treatment given for persistent/permanent AF?
B-blocker or rate limiting CCB
What is given for treatment of persistent/permanent AF if monotherapy doesn’t work?
Two of either beta blocker, digoxin, diltiazem
If dual therapy doesn’t work in treatment of persistent/permanent AF, aim of treatment should become controlling rate. True or false?
False - should move on from controlling rate to controlling rhythm
What is cardioversion?
Involves an electrical shock into chest wall to override conduction pathways and allow sinus nodes to control HR again