Conditions & Treatments
Medical News – A Recent Study Discovers Ways to Reduce Symptoms of Atrial Fibrillation
A new study released in late 2013 by the Journal of American Medical Association says that people who experience symptoms caused by atrial fibrillation – often called irregular heart rate – can find significant symptom relief when they lose weight and change their lifestyle.
The research involved 150 overweight patients in South Australia with atrial fibrillation who participated in the study for 15 months, where they were first divided into 2 separate groups.
The first group followed a program to help control blood pressure and cholesterol levels, ate lower-calorie meals and exercised for a specific amount of time. The second group followed the blood pressure and cholesterol treatments, but did not participate in the diet or exercise components.
Those in the first group lost an average of 33 pounds and no longer had any symptoms of atrial fibrillation. Those in the second group lost an average of only 12 pounds, but did not experience any relief of their atrial fibrillation symptoms.
One of the most common types of heart rhythm disorder, atrial fibrillation causes the upper chambers of the heart to beat erratically. Symptoms also include the heart pounding so hard that it feels to people as if their heart might leap out of their chest. Weakness, shortness of breath and chest pains are other related symptoms.
Atrial fibrillation affects more than 1 million Americans and is associated with obesity, previous heart attacks, coronary heart disease and heart valve disorders.
Experts suggest talking with your health care provider or cardiovascular specialist to develop a program of weight loss and exercise to help reduce the risks and symptoms associated with atrial fibrillation.
Sources
http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1779533
http://my.clevelandclinic.org/heart/atrial_fibrillation/afib.aspx
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