Atrial Fibrillation Case Study

498 Words2 Pages
Atrial fibrillation is an active arrhythmia of the heart. It is characterized by a rapid disorganized atrial electrical activation and uncoordinated atrial contraction.5 These electrical stimulations or impulses come from areas throughout the atria.5 AF can occur when there are abnormalities such as structural, electrophysiological or both that change the atrial tissue.6 These abnormalities promote irregular impulse formation and rate propagation.6 Irregular impulses can originate from the atria, thoracic veins, pulmonary veins, superior vena cava, or the vein of Marshall.4 There are 4 types of disturbances that promote ectopic firing and reentrant mechanisms according to recent research.7 They include Ca2+ -handling abnormalities, structural remodeling, autonomic neural dysregulation, and ion channel dysfunction.7…show more content…
Polygenic inheritance patterns are seen in human inheritance; however, causes of AF inheritance linked to these patterns are poorly understood and are under investigation by various research
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