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Indications for Use
The AfibAlert
®
is indicated for self-testing by patients who have been diagnosed with, or are susceptible
to developing Atrial Fibrillation and who would like to monitor and record their heart rhythm on an
intermittent basis.
Contra-Indications for Use
This device is contra-indicated (not recommended) for use in combination with pacemakers.
What is Atrial Fibrillation?
We’ve all heard or felt our heart beat, often when lying with our head on a pillow. Most often it is a
steady rhythm, but sometimes there is a noticeable change which may be caused either by a simple
ectopic beat (sometimes called a skipped beat), by Atrial Fibrillation, or a number of other cardiac
arrhythmias.
The heart is a four-chambered mechanical pump that keeps blood circulating throughout the body.
Normally, it beats regularly at 60 to 80 times per minute but does increase with exercise, excitement,
or in response to outside factors.
1.3 A normal heart rhythm
1.4 A heart rhythm experiencing Atrial Fibrillation
A normal heart beat starts as a tiny impulse that originates in the sino-atrial node (S - A node) and as
this pulse spreads throughout the heart, it causes first the upper chambers (atria) to contract and then
the lower (ventricles), forcing blood to flow to the lungs and throughout the body.
This process becomes unreliable when Atrial Fibrillation causes the atria to beat erratically (fibrillate). If
the blood does not flow effectively, it can stagnate and cause clots in the atria. When this occurs, the
patient is at risk of having either a heart attack or stroke. A stroke occurs when one of the formed clots
breaks loose from the atria, lodges in an artery and blocks the blood flow to the brain.
Atrial Fibrillation is a chaotic and rapid beating of the atria (upper chambers of the heart). But no
matter how rapid the atria contract, the lower chambers (the ventricles) tend to respond at will,
although just as chaotically. It is this erratic heart beat that is detected by the computer algorithm
located in the AfibAlert
®
. If the resulting heart rate exceeds 120 BPM for long periods of time, damage
to the heart muscles can occur.
