Health experts recommend blood thinners for people with irregular heartbeat to prevent strokes, according to a new study.
Nonvalvular atrial fibrillation or irregular heartbeat has become increasingly common in the United States. The condition is associated with strokes, palpitations, fainting, chest pain and congestive heart failure. An updated guideline from the American Academy of Neurology recommends that people with this condition should take oral anticoagulants, a type of blood thinner pills, to prevent stroke.
And people with irregular heartbeat who have already suffered a stroke or a transient ischemic attack (a threatened stroke) need to be more vigilant about taking these pills , according to a press statement.
"The World Health Organization has determined that atrial fibrillation is nearing epidemic proportions, affecting 0.5 percent of the population worldwide," said guideline lead author Antonio Culebras in the statement.
An irregular heartbeat causes blood to remain in the heart's upper chambers, later forming clots. The blood may escape to the brain and result in a stroke. According to statistics, approximately 20 people with untreated atrial fibrillation suffer a stroke each year.
While anticoagulants can prevent a stroke, researchers also highlighted that this blood thinner also increases the risk of bleeding. Hence they should be used only under close supervision.
In the last decade, several new anticoagulants have been introduced into the market. According to the AAN, anticoagulant pills like dabigatran, rivaroxaban and apixaban are the most effective. They also have a lower risk of bleeding in the brain.
"Of course, doctors will need to consider the individual patient's situation in making a decision whether or not to use anticoagulants, and which one to use, as the risks and benefits can vary for each person," said Culebras.
Last November, University of Arkansas researchers found that hospitalizations for the most common form of irregular heartbeat nearly doubled between 1998 and 2010. They also predicted that this number is expected to rise even further in the current decade. Nearly 4.7 million people landed in the hospital with atrial fibrillation from 1998 to 2010.
"Right now, we all know that a-fib is a growing epidemic in the United States," the study authors said, according to Healthy Day. "The aging population is definitely a major cause of this trend, and with the aging population comes a number of other risk factors."
Other treatments for atrial fibrillation recommended by the U.S. National Institutes of Health include:
- Medications that return the heart to a normal rhythm
- Medications that slow the heart rate
- Low-level electrical shocks to jolt the heart back to a normal rhythm
- Ablation therapy, in which radio-wave energy or intense cold is used to destroy abnormal heart tissue causing the problem
- A pacemaker that will help maintain a normal heart rhythm
The guideline is published in the February 25, 2014, print issue of Neurology.
