Understanding your heart rhythm.

An irregular, often rapid heartbeat that starts in the upper chambers of the heart. AFib is the most common sustained arrhythmia and a leading cause of stroke.

A breakdown in the electrical wiring between the upper and lower chambers of the heart. The severity ranges from a harmless delay to a complete disconnection that requires a pacemaker.

An inherited electrical condition with a characteristic ECG pattern and a small but real risk of sudden cardiac death, often during sleep or fever. Recognizing it early lets us avoid triggers and protect the highest-risk patients with an ICD.

A catheter procedure that electrically isolates the pulmonary veins — the most common source of AFib triggers — to restore and maintain normal rhythm.

A short, highly effective catheter procedure that intentionally interrupts the heart's natural electrical bridge between the upper and lower chambers, controlling fast heart rates from AFib when medications can't. It requires a pacemaker.

A brief, planned procedure under sedation that delivers a synchronized electrical shock to reset the heart from an abnormal rhythm — most commonly atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter — back into normal sinus rhythm.

An alternative left atrial appendage closure device that uses a lobe-and-disc design to seal the appendage from two sides at once, allowing patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation to come off long-term blood thinners.

A combined device that does two things at once: resynchronizes a weakened heart by pacing the left and right ventricles together, and protects against sudden cardiac death with defibrillation.

A newer defibrillator with a lead placed under the breastbone rather than inside a vein. It delivers shocks and anti-tachycardia pacing without anything in the bloodstream.

The most effective antiarrhythmic medication we have — but also the one with the most long-term side effects. We use it carefully, often short-term, and monitor several organs while patients are on it.

A direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC) we use to lower stroke risk in atrial fibrillation and to treat or prevent blood clots in the legs and lungs. Taken twice daily, no routine blood testing required.

A family of medications that blunt the effect of adrenaline on the heart. We use them for rate control in AF and flutter, symptom control in SVT, and as a cornerstone for inherited arrhythmias like long QT syndrome.

Alcohol is one of the most consistent and modifiable triggers for atrial fibrillation. Even moderate drinking promotes AFib, and reducing or stopping is one of the highest-yield lifestyle changes our patients can make.

Caffeine is much less of an AFib trigger than its reputation suggests. Other stimulants — energy drinks, pre-workouts, decongestants, certain ADHD medications, and recreational stimulants — are a different story.

Regular moderate exercise lowers the risk of atrial fibrillation and improves outcomes once it develops. Extreme endurance training is a separate story. Most patients should be doing more, not less.