Symptoms and Natural Support For Atrial Fibrillation
Atrial fibrillation (AFib) is a heart condition that disrupts the normal rhythm of the heart's upper chambers, the atria. This irregular heartbeat can lead to a variety of health complications, affecting millions of people globally. In this comprehensive exploration, we will delve into the prevalence of AFib, conventional treatment methods, and the emerging role of holistic approaches, particularly those embraced by functional medicine practitioners like myself.
You may be wondering things like, is AFib life-threatening? Or, what is the leading cause of AFib? These are excellent questions to ask. First, you need to know that you are not alone. As of 2020, 37,574,000 million people worldwide have been diagnosed with AFib.
This number has increased by 33 percent during the last 20 years!
Over 5 million people in America are diagnosed with atrial fibrillation each year. This number will rise to 15.9 million by the year 2050. Over 6 billion dollars are spent annually on AFib in the United States. Annual medical costs can be up almost $9,000 higher for people who have AFib than those who don’t.
Understanding Atrial Fibrillation
How Did You Learn About Your AFib Condition?
Did you see the doctor with complaints of shortness of breath or with
palpitations or with lightheadedness or dizziness? Or were you diagnosed just because you had a routine EKG or preoperative EKG and they found it there? Or was the doctor listening to your heart and heard an abnormality in your heart rhythm or checked your pulse and noticed something different? Maybe you were donating blood. Maybe you were checking your blood pressure and the monitor came up saying you're irregular.
Prevalence and Impact
Atrial fibrillation is the most common type of serious arrhythmia, affecting an estimated 33 million people worldwide. Its prevalence increases with age, making it more common in the elderly population. AFib not only poses immediate health risks but is also associated with an elevated risk of stroke and heart failure. Endothelial dysfunction occurs when the lining of your blood vessels, called the endothelium, take on many insults from inflammation. This lining is also inside your heart’s atria and ventricles. The endothelium is not just a barrier between blood and tissue. It is extremely active to prevent cells and proteins from entry into areas they don’t belong. Promoting healthy endothelial function will improve your overall cardiovascular health.
The Mechanism of AFib
In a healthy heart, electrical signals coordinate the contraction of the atria and ventricles, ensuring an efficient pumping of blood. In AFib, chaotic electrical signals disrupt this coordination, leading to irregular and often rapid heartbeats. This irregularity can reduce the heart's efficiency in pumping blood, potentially leading to blood clots, stroke, or other heart-related complications.
Paroxysmal, Persistant & Permanent AFib
Paroxysmal means atrial fibrillation comes and goes. It comes and it goes. It may last for a few seconds. It may last for a few minutes. It may last for a few hours and may last for a few days. But typically, that person can either bounce back to normal on their own.
Approximately half of those fall into the category of paroxysmal AFib.
Persistent is when you're always in atrial fibrillation and never go back into normal sinus rhythm unless an intervention is performed such as a cardioversion.
Permanent atrial fibrillation is when you're in atrial fibrillation and there is nothing that the medical system can do about it. There's nothing they could do about it. I certainly think that even if you've been labeled as permanent, I think that by you taking this course, we can make a big, big difference and possibly change your level of where you are at now.
Conventional Treatments for AFib
Medication Management
The conventional approach to managing AFib often involves medications to control heart rate and rhythm. Antiarrhythmic drugs, beta-blockers, and anticoagulants are commonly prescribed to alleviate symptoms and reduce the risk of complications.
Cardioversion
In some cases, healthcare providers may recommend cardioversion, a procedure that uses electric shocks or medications to restore the heart's normal rhythm. This is a procedure where you will want to be sedated.
Catheter Ablation
For individuals with persistent AFib, catheter ablation may be considered. This procedure involves the use of radiofrequency energy or freezing to destroy or isolate areas of the heart causing the abnormal rhythm.
Surgical Interventions
In severe cases or when other treatments are ineffective, surgical options such as a maze procedure or atrial fibrillation surgery may be considered to create scar tissue that disrupts the erratic electrical signals.
The Holistic Approach in Functional Medicine
We need to figure out WHY you have atrial fibrillation. That is the purpose of this article. We're really going to talk about prevention, not only for prevention of atrial fibrillation, but prevention of heart attack, congestive heart failure, dementia prevention of you dying.
Understanding Functional Medicine
Functional medicine is an approach that seeks to address the root causes of health conditions rather than merely treating symptoms. Functional medicine doctors view the body as an interconnected system and aim to identify and address imbalances that contribute to health issues.
Nutritional Approaches
Holistic treatments for AFib often include nutritional interventions. Certain dietary factors, such as excessive caffeine or alcohol intake, can contribute to AFib episodes. Functional medicine doctors work with individuals to identify and modify dietary habits that may trigger or exacerbate AFib.
Lifestyle Modifications
Stress, lack of sleep, and sedentary lifestyles can contribute to the development and exacerbation of AFib. Functional medicine emphasizes lifestyle modifications, including stress reduction techniques, regular exercise, and quality sleep, as integral components of AFib management. Inflammation. Your body is on fire. Your heart is one fire. Toxic food and a toxic lifestyle create inflammation. This is measured by blood tests very easily. To get your AFIB under control, we need to reverse the inflammation. Not only does inflammation increase AFIB burden, but it also increases stroke risk.
Nutritional Supplements
Certain nutritional supplements, such as magnesium and potassium, are believed to support heart health and may be recommended in functional medicine approaches to AFib. These supplements are chosen based on an individual's unique health profile.
Mind-Body Techniques
Prayer and relaxation techniques are often integrated into holistic approaches for managing AFib or any chronic illness as I will teach. As a biblical pastor/teacher, I do not condone or promote many of the "mindfulness" practices that many holistic practitioners suggest. Yoga, meditation and many other suggestions in this area are new-age and of the occult. You are more than welcome to disagree and that is ok with me, just know that you will not hear me promoting Yoga, meditation or any other Eastern practice.
I will promote biblical prayer and meditation, the reading of scripture, and the practice of culitavating a deep prayer life/relationship with God/Yahweh. These practices aim to reduce stress, promote emotional well-being, and positively influence heart health. However, many other practitioners well recommend some type of "mindfulness" technique that I personally disagree with.
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Christopher Wilson, Certified Nutritionist
Psalm 16:11 "You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand."
