'Silent' Atrial Fibrillation & Stroke: A Walking Time Bomb. 30%−50% Are Undiagnosed

MALIBU, Calif. - Aug. 18, 2014 - PRLog -- If you have A-Fib and aren’t being treated by a doctor, you are five-to-six times more likely to have a stroke than the general population.¹ ‘Silent A-Fib’ is common. Up to 30%−50% of A-Fib patients are unaware they have A-Fib often only learning about their Atrial Fibrillation during a routine medical exam.² Of patients with untreated A-Fib, 35% will suffer a stroke.³ Half of all A-Fib-related strokes are major and disabling.⁴

There is also a danger of “silent” A-Fib strokes where stroke effects aren’t evident but may appear like attention deficit, forgetfulness, and senile dementia.⁵ Atrial Fibrillation (A-Fib) is responsible for up to 25% of all strokes, or 140,000 strokes annually.⁶

September is ‘Atrial Fibrillation Awareness Month’
Atrial Fibrillation (A-Fib) has been called The New Epidemic in Cardiovascular Disease.⁷ At least 2.2 million Americans have atrial fibrillation and by 2050 that number will rise to over 7.5 million.⁸ At the age of 40, one-in-four risk developing A-Fib in their lifetime.^9-10

A-Fib is the most common cardiac arrhythmia (abnormal heart rhythm) seen by physicians. It is one of the most under treated heart rhythm disorders in America and accounts for about one-third of hospital admissions.¹¹ September was declared ‘Atrial Fibrillation Awareness Month’ by the U.S. Senate in 2009,

Journalists, Reporters and Show Producers: Get the Facts
"A-Fib Awareness Month gives the media and healthcare educators the opportunity to help inform the public who may be walking around with A-Fib and the risk of stroke but don't know it," according to Steve S. Ryan, former A-Fib patient and publisher of Atrial Fibrillation: Resources for Patients, A-Fib.com.

To research more facts and statistics about Atrial Fibrillation visit A-FibFacts.info (http://www.A-FibFacts.info) your unbiased, independent source for Atrial Fibrillation information and statistics backed up with full research citations and sources.

Read over 70 first-person stories of A-Fib patients no longer struggling with the burden of Atrial Fibrillation. Go to Atrial Fibrillation: Resources for Patients, Personal Experiences (http://a-fib.com/personal-experiences-parent/).

Drug Industry A-Fib Ads Misleading to Patients
It’s important when writing and reporting about Atrial Fibrillation to know “there’s more to treating Atrial Fibrillation than just addressing the increased risk of stroke” says Steve S. Ryan, PhD.

Dr. Ryan views the current drug company media campaign as misleading patients. “Treating A-Fib is more complex than the TV ads make it seem, i.e., 'Just take a daily blood thinner [anticoagulant] and you're all set. Wrong.Taking a blood thinner doesn't stop or treat Atrial Fibrillation.”

After first addressing the stroke risk, treating Atrial Fibrillation means “controlling the rhythm and rate of the heart to prevent enlargement, fibrosis and heart disease, and treating the patient's often debilitating symptoms.”

Atrial Fibrillation Topics for Articles and Shows
To promote A-Fib Awareness Month, Dr. Ryan has compiled a list of 12 topic ideas for interviews, articles and radio or TV shows, such as.
 •  Dementia and A-Fib: What Baby Boomers need to know about Alzheimer’s and aging.
 •  The A-Fib–Magnesium Link: Common mineral deficiencies in A-Fib patients; recommended nutritional supplements.
 •  A-Fib Triggers: The Big Four. Hypertension, Obesity, Sleep Apnea & Diabetes.
For the complete list go to http://beatyoura-fib.com/Interview_Topics.html

About A-FibFacts.Info and A-Fib.com
A-FibFacts.Info (http://www.A-FibFacts.Info) is sponsored by former A-Fib patient, Steve S. Ryan, publisher of A-Fib.com and author of Beat Your A-Fib: The Essential Guide to Finding Your Cure, an Amazon 'Top 100 Seller' in heart disease and medical reference categories. For more background info see: 'Steve S. Ryan' at https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevesryan.

Atrial Fibrillation: Resources for Patients, A-Fib.com, is a non-profit patient education website started in 2002. A-Fib.com is the patient's independent source of well-researched information on current and emerging treatments, resources and medical research written in plain language. A-Fib.com offers patients and their families hope beyond the common drug therapies that manage the disease but do not cure it. A-Fib.com empowers patients to seek their cure.

Need a quote? A speaker? Or A-Fib guests for your show?
Want to talk with a patient advocate for those suffering from A-Fib? Or need an article written? Email Dr. Ryan or call (310) 266-7642 (cell) or (310) 457-7126 (home office).

Online media kit: http://a-fib.com/media-room/

References: (Full citations available online at A-Fib.com: http://a-fib.com/references-silent-atrial-fibrillation-stroke-walking-time-bomb/)
1 Gillinov AM, Ann. Thorac. Surg. 2002; 74:2210-17.
2 Furberg, CD et al. Am J Cardiol. 1994; 74: 236-241.
3 Blackshear JL, Ann. Thorac. Surg. 1996;61:755-759.
4 Loftus, B. Atrial Fibrillation and Stroke. Bellaire Neurology
5 Feinberg, Arch Intern Med 1990;150:2340-2344.
6 Kiser, A C., UNC Cardiac Surgery and Services Convergent Procedure
7 Atrial fibrillation: New management approaches for the "new epidemic" in cardiovascular disease. 26 June, 2011.
8 Go, A.S, JAMA 2001;285:2370-2375.
9 Heeringa, J. European Heart Journal 2006,27,949–953.
10 Lloyd-Jones, D M, Circulation. 2004;110:1042-1046.
11 Fuster, V., Circulation, 114 (7), 700-752.