<unk>  <unk>  or<unk>  is a cardiac arrhythmia (abnormal heart rhythm) that involves the two upper chambers (atria) of the heart.<unk>  is an irregularly irregular heartbeat due to the chaotic firing of the impulses in the atrium. In this rhythm, the atrium is stimulated chaotically by a wide number of ectopic foci of electrical activity. Although several clinical classification plans and protocols have been proposed, none of them fully account for all aspects of<unk> . The American Heart Association, American College of Cardiology, and the European Society of Cardiology have proposed a classification system based on simplicity and clinical relevance. This classification system contains four main categories of<unk> ; detected or diagnosed, paroxysmal, persistent, and permanent. In<unk> , the normal electrical impulses that are generated by the sinoatrial node are overwhelmed by disorganized electrical impulses that originate in the atria and pulmonary veins, leading to the conduction of irregular impulses to the ventricles. This results in an irregular heartbeat which may occur in episodes lasting from minutes to weeks or continuously for many years. The most common cause of<unk>  is atrial dilation associated with hypertension. Approximately 1/3 of patients have<unk> milial<unk>  which is due to an underlying genetic disorder. Given the number of patients who undergo coronary artery bypass grafting in the developed world, this is an increasing underlying cause of<unk> . Other general causes include the advancing age of the population, the hemodynamic stress of heart<unk> ilure and valvular heart disease, myocardial ischemia, a variety of inflammatory disorders, pulmonary diseases, alcohol and drug abuse, and endocrine disorders.<unk>  must be distinguished from other common atrial arrhythmias which include atrial flutter, atrial tachycardia, atrioventricular nodal reentry tachycardia, paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia,  and Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome.<unk>  <unk>  is the most common arrhythmia and its risk increases with age (8% of people over the age of 80 have<unk> . This is mostly because the risk for heart disease and other conditions that can cause<unk>  also increases with increasing age.<unk>  accounts for 1/3 of hospital admissions for cardiac rhythm disturbances, and the rate of admissions for<unk>  has risen in recent years. Men are more likely than women to have the condition. In the United States,<unk>  <unk>  is more common among Caucasians than<unk> rican-Americans or Hispanic Americans. Screening for<unk>  is generally not performed, although a study of routine pulse checks or electrocardiograms during routine office visits found that the annual rate of<unk>  diagnosis in elderly patients improved from 1.04% to 1.63%.<unk>  can be complicated by embolic events including stroke and systemic embolization. The atrial kick (active filling of the left ventricle by atrial contraction) often contributes importantly to the filling of the left ventricle, and the loss of the atrial kick can be associated with the development of congestive heart<unk> ilure.<unk>  is often asymptomatic, and is not in itself generally life-threatening, but may result in palpitations,<unk> inting, chest pain, or congestive heart<unk> ilure. The absence of P waves on the electrocardiogram with an irregularly irregular atrial rhythm is diagnostic of<unk> . Performing an echocardiogram in the setting of<unk>  is essential to evaluate certain pathologies of the heart such as valvular heart disease, hypertrophy, presence of thrombus, and presence of pericardial disease. Furthermore, some parameters of cardiac functionality including the size and ejection fraction of the left ventricle can also be reported in echocardiogram.<unk>  may be treated with medications which either slow the heart rate or revert the heart rhythm back to normal sinus rhythm. Synchronized electrical cardioversion may also be used to convert<unk>  to a normal heart rhythm. Surgical and catheter-based therapies may also be used to prevent recurrence of<unk>  in certain individuals. Patients with<unk>  are often given anticoagulants such as warfarin to reduce the risk of stroke.
Atrial fibrillation
Atrial flutter
Sinus arrhythmia
Ventricular flutter
Supraventricular tachycardia
Ectopic atrial rhythm
Paroxysmal atrial fibrillation
Torsades de pointes