Condition5 connections · 1 source
Atrial Fibrillation
A cardiac arrhythmia characterized by rapid, disorganized electrical impulses in the atria that cause them to quiver instead of contracting effectively.
Key Facts
- It causes an irregular ventricular heartbeat because only a fraction of the chaotic atrial impulses successfully pass through the AV node.
- In dogs and cats, it typically occurs secondary to atrial enlargement caused by underlying structural heart disease.
- Large and giant breed dogs can develop primary or lone atrial fibrillation without other identifiable cardiac abnormalities.
- It is definitively diagnosed by identifying specific irregular electrical patterns on an electrocardiogram.
Connections (5)
Related Conditions
ArrhythmiaCondition
Atrial fibrillation is a specific form of arrhythmia discussed in the article.
CardiomyopathyCondition
Cardiomyopathy frequently causes atrial enlargement, which creates the physical environment necessary for atrial fibrillation to develop.
Congestive Heart FailureCondition
The reduced cardiac output and inefficient pumping from atrial fibrillation can acutely worsen clinical signs and trigger congestive heart failure.
Heart DiseaseCondition
Underlying structural heart disease is the most common cause of the atrial stretch required for this arrhythmia to occur in pets.