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Mayo Clinic electrophysiologist Fred Kusumoto, M.D., explains what happens in the heart to create atrial fibrillation and what can be done to fix it.
Jeff Olsen: This is a normal heartbeat. [HEART BEATING] Atrial fibrillation interrupts this regular beat.
Fred Kusumoto, M.D., Cardiology, Mayo Clinic: In atrial fibrillation, instead of the atria squeezing in a normal regular fashion, the atria beat irregularly and chaotically.
Jeff Olsen: Dr. Fred Kusumoto is an electrophysiologist at Mayo Clinic.
Dr. Kusumoto: In some cases people feel their heart palpitating or beating very, very fast or a flip-flop in their heart or chest area. Other times, people just notice that they're more short of breath when they walk upstairs.
Jeff Olsen: Dr. Kusumoto says atrial fibrillation decreases the heart's blood pumping efficiency and puts a patient at higher risk for blood clots, heart failure, and stroke. In some cases, atrial fibrillation can be corrected with medication or by administering a shock to a sedated patient's heart. In other instances, a procedure called catheter ablation may be used to scar tissue that's creating the erratic signals [HEART BEATING] in the hopes of getting back to that normal beat.
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