This week Bobbi Conner talks with Dr. Anne Kroman about managing and adjusting to atrial fibrillation in the first year after diagnosis. Dr. Kroman is an Assistant Professor in the College of Medicine and she’s a cardiac electrophysiologist at MUSC.
TRANSCRIPT:
Conner: I'm Bobbi Conner for South Carolina Public Radio with Health Focus here at the radio studio for the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. Atrial fibrillation, or AFib, is one of the most common types of irregular heart rhythm. Doctor Anne Kroman is here to talk about managing and adjusting to this heart condition in the first year after diagnosis. Doctor Kroman is an Assistant Professor in the College of Medicine, and she's a cardiac electrophysiologist at MUSC. Doctor Kroman, tell us more details about this heart condition.
Dr. Kroman: Atrial fibrillation is an abnormal heart rhythm that's confined to the upper two chambers of the heart. The atrium. And these chambers, instead of beating at a regular rate, are often going at a very fast, abnormal rate. Think of it almost as electrical chaos in these two upper chambers of the heart.
Conner: And how is this heart condition typically detected and diagnosed?
Dr. Kroman: Atrial fibrillation is most commonly diagnosed in people who present with symptoms of maybe feeling that their heart rate or heartbeat is a little bit irregular, or maybe rapid at times. There's also another group of patients who don't really know that they even have atrial fibrillation, and it is picked up any time that they get an EKG. Or this may be picked up on a cardiac monitor that some people may wear for a period of time, anywhere from three days up to a couple of weeks. Additionally, some patients even realize that they have atrial fibrillation after their smartwatch or wearable will send them an alert that it's potentially detected this irregular heart rate or rhythm.
Conner: What steps are important to take during the first months, in that first year after diagnosis, to adapt and also best manage this condition?
Dr. Kroman: One of the first things that we do when we see somebody with a new diagnosis is that we need to assess their risk of stroke, and sometimes one of the first medications that we start is actually a blood thinner to help reduce the risk of stroke. There also may be additional medicines that people are started on that help with the rhythm or the rate of the heart.
Conner: And in addition to medication, what else might you counsel patients about that they can do to help with this condition?
Dr. Kroman: Some of the things that people can do to help manage their atrial fibrillation, or even reduce the amount of atrial fibrillation, is to get control over things such as their blood pressure, or if they have sleep apnea or snore at night, getting that treated is very important. They can kind of work to control their alcohol intake, which can also lead to higher rates of atrial fibrillation. All of these are things that people can do to really help themselves and to prevent more in future occurrences of AFib.
Conner: I'm sure people are concerned after they get this diagnosis. What's your take on how this impacts their life over the long haul?
Dr. Kroman: While being diagnosed with atrial fibrillation can, for some people, be a surprise and be worrisome, I would like to reassure people that in good partnership with your physicians and your whole physician team, something that's easily manageable with lots of different options for working on treating it. Protecting people against the risk of stroke, and making sure people have a great quality of life even with atrial fibrillation.
Conner: Doctor Kroman, thanks for this update about managing AFib.
Dr. Kroman: Of course, it is my pleasure. Thank you.
Conner: From the Radio Studio for the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, I'm Bobbi Conner for South Carolina Public Radio.
Health Focus transcripts are intended to accurately represent the original audio version of the program; however, some discrepancies or inaccuracies may exist. The audio format serves as the official record of Health Focus programming.
