Atrial fibrillation is a potentially serious condition that causes the heart to pulsate rapidly at 300 to 600 beats per minute. This can trigger symptoms such as:

• Palpitations

• Weakness

• Reduced ability to exercise

• Fatigue

• Lightheadedness

• Shortness of breath

• Chest pain

Atrial fibrillation also causes blood flow to become irregular, which means it can pool and form a clot, increasing the risk of stroke. People with chronic atrial fibrillation are five times more likely to have a stroke than those with a normal heartbeat.

Research has also linked the condition to memory loss.

Depending on the underlying cause of atrial fibrillation and how long you’ve had it, doctors may be able to reset your sinus rhythm using a procedure called electrical cardioversion. During this brief procedure, an electric shock is delivered to the heart through paddles or patches placed on the chest; this shock stops the heart’s electrical activity for a short moment. The goal is to reset the heart’s normal rhythm.

In most cases, one to three shocks will restore the normal sinus rhythm. But how long it will stay that way is not predictable, so medication is often prescribed to help prevent future episodes.

Treatment of atrial fibrillation has also changed in recent years, with earlier intervention now found to be preferable. The main reason for this early intervention is that it avoids the possibility that atrial fibrillation will result in a process called “heart remodeling,” which refers to changes in the heart’s size and shape that occur in response to cardiac disease or cardiac damage.

When you remodel your house, it’s often a good thing. Not so with remodeling of the heart. In general, the greater the degree of ventricular remodeling, the worse a person’s outcome is likely to be.