cardiovascular disorders
Atrial Fibrillation
Symptoms and Signs of Atrial Fibrillation
Atrial fibrillation is often asymptomatic, but many patients have palpitations, vague chest discomfort, or symptoms of heart failure (eg, weakness, light-headedness, dyspnea), particularly when the ventricular rate is very rapid (often 140 to 160 beats/minute). Patients may also present with symptoms and signs of acute stroke or of other organ damage due to systemic emboli. The pulse is irregularly irregular with loss ofawaves in the jugular venous pulse. A pulse deficit (the apical ventricular rate is faster than the rate palpated at the wrist) may be present because left ventricular stroke volume is not always sufficient to produce a peripheral pressure wave for a beat closely coupled to the previous beat. 