Dignity Health doctor explains what to know about AFib

Dignity Health doctor explains what to know about atrial fibrillation

Updated: 2:35 PM PDT Sep 19, 2024

PHONE TO GET NEW INFORMATION. SEPTEMBER IS A-FIB AWARENESS MONTH IF YOU DIDN’T KNOW. ATRIAL FIBRILLATION IS AN ABNORMAL HEARTBEAT CONDITION. EXPERTS SAY. NOW THAT PEOPLE ARE LIVING LONGER, IT’S BECOMING EVEN MORE COMMON. THIS MORNING WE WELCOME DOCTOR MOHAMMED JAMIL. HE IS A CARDIOTHORACIC SURGEON WITH DIGNITY HEALTH. DOCTOR JAMIL, GOOD MORNING. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE. HEY. GOOD MORNING RANDI. HOW ARE YOU? I’M WELL. EXPLAIN FOR PEOPLE WHO DON’T KNOW WHAT CAUSES AFIB. SO AFIB, WE DON’T EXACTLY KNOW WHAT CAUSES AFIB, BUT WE KNOW THE RISK FACTORS. YOU KNOW, AS YOU AGE AND YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE SOME RISK FACTORS LIKE DIABETES, HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE OR SMOKING. YOU KNOW, ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION, EXCESSIVE CAFFEINE CAN CAUSE IT SOMETIMES. AND JUST OVERALL, YOU KNOW, BEING IN A STRESSFUL ENVIRONMENT OF THE WESTERN WORLD AND THE THE CHAMBERS OF THE HEART HAVE AN ELECTRICAL SYSTEM THAT SOMETIMES GO ABERRANT AND THAT CAUSES THE ASSISTANT CHAMBER OF THE MAIN PUMPING CHAMBER OF THE HEART TO GO INTO THIS ABNORMAL RHYTHM CALLED THE FIBRILLATION. AND THAT FIBRILLATION SOMETIMES. CAN YOU KNOW, CAUSE AN ABNORMAL HEART RATE OR, OR MORE IMPORTANTLY, IT BECAUSE THE HEART IS FIBRILLATING SOMETIMES BLOOD CAN GET STAGNANT IN THE HEART AND CAUSE A BLOOD CLOT, WHICH SUBSEQUENTLY CAN SHOOT UP TO YOUR BRAIN AND CAUSE YOU A STROKE. SO THAT’S THE NATURE OF AFIB. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE MOST COMMON SYMPTOMS THAT PEOPLE WOULD FEEL, OR THAT THEIR FAMILY MEMBERS SHOULD NOTE? WELL, FAMILY MEMBERS, YOU KNOW, IT WOULD BE HARD FOR FAMILY MEMBERS TO NOTE EXACTLY. BUT YOU KNOW, PATIENTS WOULD FEEL PALPITATIONS SOMETIMES. AND WHEN THE HEART FUNCTION ISN’T GREAT, THEY DON’T FEEL GREAT OVERALL, THEY WILL FEEL SHORT OF BREATH. SOMETIMES THEY’LL CAUSE CHEST PAIN, TOO. AND ON THE OTHER END, SOMETIMES PATIENTS GET CONDITIONS LIKE CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE OR AORTIC STENOSIS OR ANY OTHER HEART CONDITION, OR THEY’RE ADMITTED TO THE HOSPITAL FOR SOME OTHER CONDITION. AND THE PHYSICIANS PICK IT UP ON MONITORING. AND ONE OF THE OTHER WAYS THAT IT CAN BE MONITORED, TOO, IS THROUGH A SMARTWATCH. TELL US MORE ABOUT THAT. RIGHT. SO IF YOU KNOW THAT YOU HAVE AFIB, IT’S A GOOD WAY TO KEEP A TRACK ON ON WHETHER YOUR HEART IS IN NORMAL SINUS RHYTHM OR, OR IN AFIB. SO, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE YOUR APPLE PHONE WILL TELL YOU OR APPLE WATCH WILL TELL YOU, LIKE PUT YOUR FINGER HERE AND THEN MONITOR FOR THAT MANY SECONDS. AND THEN YOU HAVE A READING, WHETHER IT’S NORMAL SINUS OR AFIB AND TALK MORE ABOUT TREATMENT OPTIONS. WHAT WHAT ARE THEY. WELL, LOTS OF TREATMENT OPTIONS. SO FIRST WE START WITH THE MEDICATIONS. AND THAT’S THE MAJORITY OF PATIENTS WILL START WITH MEDICATIONS. AND SO ONCE YOUR MEDICATIONS ARE NOT CONTROLLING YOUR SYMPTOMS ENOUGH OR IS NOT ABLE TO PUT YOUR HEART BACK INTO A NORMAL SINUS RHYTHM, THEN YOU HAVE CATHETER ABLATION WHERE THEY GO THROUGH THE GROIN OR THE WRIST. AND THEN THEY WILL, YOU KNOW, CAUSE SOME ELECTRICAL FENCES INSIDE THE HEART. IF THAT DOESN’T WORK AND YOU KNOW, THERE ARE PRETTY AGGRESSIVE OPTIONS LIKE SURGERY AS WELL, ESPECIALLY ON PATIENTS WHO ARE GETTING OPERATIONS FOR OTHER REASONS. WE’RE GOING INTO THE CHEST FOR SOME REASON, AND THEY HAVE AFIB. THEY’RE PRETTY AGGRESSIVE TREATMENT THAT WE CAN DO THAT ARE VERY SUCCESSFUL FOR THEM. SO WE’VE TALKED ABOUT THE TREATMENTS. WE TALKED ABOUT THE THINGS THAT PERHAPS CAN CAUSE THIS. ARE THERE PREVENTATIVE MEASURES THAT PEOPLE CAN TAKE TO AVOID GETTING IT? OH, FOR SURE. JUST LIKE MAINTAINING A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE, YOU KNOW, JUST LESS STRESS WHICH WHICH IS HARD TO DO. AND THEN, YOU KNOW, MANAGING YOUR DIABETES, MANAGING YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE, KEEPING IN TOUCH WITH YOUR PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIAN, GETTING RID OF UNHEALTHY HABITS LIKE ALCOHOL AND AND SMOKING. BUT GENERALLY, YOU KNOW, IT’S IT’S IT’S SOMEWHAT LIKE DIABETES. SOMETIMES YOU GET IT AND IT KIND OF STAYS WITH YOU FOR LIFE. THEN YOU HAVE TO CONTROL IT. SO, SO OVERALL HEALTHY LIFESTYLE IS IS THE GOAL HERE. THAT’S ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. OF COURSE, WE ALWAYS HEAR DOCTORS TELL US LESS STRESS SO THAT MAY BE THE THE REMEDY FOR A LOT OF THE MOST STRESSED OF THEMSELVES. YES. SO YES DOCTOR WE APPRECIATE YOU JOINING US THIS MORN

Dignity Health doctor explains what to know about atrial fibrillation

Updated: 2:35 PM PDT Sep 19, 2024

September is AFib Awareness Month. Atrial fibrillation is an abnormal heartbeat condition. Now that people are living longer it’s becoming more common, experts say. Dr. N. Mahbub Jamil, a cardiothoracic surgeon with Dignity Health, joined KCRA 3 to talk about the condition. “We don’t exactly know what causes AFib but we know the risk factors,” he said.Those risk factors include increased age, diabetes, high blood pressure, smoking and alcohol consumption, he said. “That causes the assistant chamber of the main pumping chamber of the heart to go in this abnormal rhythm called atrial fibrillation,” he said. That can cause blood clots that could lead to a stroke, he said. Preventive measures include maintaining a healthy lifestyle and less stress, he said. See the full interview in the video above.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter

September is AFib Awareness Month.

Atrial fibrillation is an abnormal heartbeat condition. Now that people are living longer it’s becoming more common, experts say.

Dr. N. Mahbub Jamil, a cardiothoracic surgeon with Dignity Health, joined KCRA 3 to talk about the condition.

“We don’t exactly know what causes AFib but we know the risk factors,” he said.

Those risk factors include increased age, diabetes, high blood pressure, smoking and alcohol consumption, he said.

“That causes the assistant chamber of the main pumping chamber of the heart to go in this abnormal rhythm called atrial fibrillation,” he said.

That can cause blood clots that could lead to a stroke, he said.

Preventive measures include maintaining a healthy lifestyle and less stress, he said.

See the full interview in the video above.

See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter