Doctors & patients are saying about 'A-Fib.com'...
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Dr. Douglas L. Packer, MD, FHRS, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
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Jill and Steve Douglas, East Troy, WI
“I really appreciate all the information on your website as it allows me to be a better informed patient and to know what questions to ask my EP.
Faye Spencer, Boise, ID, April 2017
“I think your site has helped a lot of patients.”Dr. Hugh G. Calkins, MD Johns Hopkins,
Baltimore, MD
FAQs Understanding A-Fib: Paroxysmal to Chronic
What causes Paroxysmal (occasional) A-Fib to turn into Persistent (chronic) A-Fib?
Researchers are still working to find the answer(s) to this question. We do know that some patients remain paroxysmal (usually with anti-arrhythmic therapy), while a large proportion progress to persistent A-Fib. (In a study of 5,000+ A-Fib patients, 54% of those on rate control meds went into permanent A-Fib within one year.)
The main trigger seems to be increased pressures in the left atrium that cause the muscle fibers within the pulmonary vein openings to start beating on their own.
Uncontrolled blood pressure, untreated sleep apnea and diabetes, or a worsening cardiomyopathy seem to be key factors that make people progress from Paroxysmal to Persistent A-Fib. Research tells us that even after a successful ablation for Persistent A-Fib, “the long term success rates depend mostly on treatment of hypertension and obstructive sleep apnea.”
What does this mean to you? The longer you have Atrial Fibrillation, the harder it can be to cure it. Consider working aggressively to stop your A-Fib as with antiarrhythmic meds or with a minimally-invasive Pulmonary Vein Ablation (or a Mini-maze surgery). You don’t want to be part of the 54% whose A-Fib becomes permanent.
Go back to FAQ Understanding A-Fib
Last updated: July 11, 2021
