By the doc

Treatment for a risky and rapid heartbeat could be quite a shock

There’s something quite comforting about the sound of a heartbeat.

If it’s quiet enough you can even hear your own pulse making that familiar “thump-thump, thumpthump” sound.

For my patient, though, the sound of his heartbeat was causing a wee bit of concern.

In a quiet moment, his heart wasn’t trotting steadily at 60-80 beats per minute, but at what seemed to be a much more urgent and irregular gallop of 120 beats.

He was getting a bit dizzy, and feeling breathless while walking up the steps to his home.

We checked an electrocardiogram, or ECG for short, a simple tracing which helps measure the electrical activity in the heart.

The results confirmed what I suspected – that he was experiencing atrial fibrillation.

This heart condition is common in older people, and can be caused by the strain of high blood pressure.

It can also occur due to coronary artery disease, heart valve problems or several other heart conditions.

Atrial fibrillation might also be triggered by an overactive thyroid gland, pneumonia, a lung clot, obesity, or drinking too much alcohol or caffeine. Sometimes there’s no obvious cause.

In my patient’s case it was likely his long-standing high blood pressure.

There are ways to treat atrial fibrillation, which involve bringing down the heart rate if elevated – for example with beta-blockers.

Sometimes we try to correct the erratic rhythm and turn it back into a nice, steady beat.

This is called cardioversion and can be done by giving your heart an electric shock or using a medicine like amiodarone.

Unfortunately the atrial fibrillation tends to come back, particularly in older patients, so this tends to be tried only in those under 65.

The reason we are keen to diagnose atrial fibrillation these days is because we know it can increase the risk of experiencing a stroke.

A small blood clot can sometimes form in the chambers of the heart and work its way to the brain.

The risk of this depends on things like age, or other conditions like diabetes, but in most cases anticoagulant medicines are recommended.

That way you can keep enjoying the familiar thump-thumping sound for years to come.