Sept. 12, 2024 – The number of U.S. adults who have a potentially dangerous irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation is triple the number that health experts previously thought, according to newly published data.
Until now, it was believed atrial fibrillation affects around 3.3 million adults. That estimate was based on projections made from 1990s data. Often called AFib, the condition has been known to be on the rise. But a new analysis published Wednesday in a major cardiology medical journal now estimates the number to be more than 10.5 million adults.
That’s nearly 5% of the U.S. adult population. The condition tends to affect people when they are older, particularly over age 60, so the new estimate makes AFib quite common among older adults.
People with AFib experience an irregular heart rhythm when the upper two of the heart’s four chambers twitch and quiver. This can affect blood flow, which, in serious cases, can lead to blood clots and stroke. Symptoms may include shortness of breath, tiredness, dizziness, a rapid heart rate between 100 and 160 beats per minute, and palpitations, which is a heightened sense of the heart racing, fluttering, pounding, or skipping beats. Another symptom is exercise intolerance, meaning that a person feels overly fatigued during exercise. But some people don’t experience any symptoms.
“Atrial fibrillation doubles the risk of mortality, is one of the most common causes of stroke, increases risks of heart failure, myocardial infarction (heart attack), chronic kidney disease and dementia, and results in lower quality of life,” said researcher Jean Jacques Noubiap, MD, PhD, a University of California, San Francisco postdoctoral scholar with a specialty in global cardiovascular health, in a statement. “Fortunately, atrial fibrillation is preventable, and early detection and appropriate treatment can substantially reduce its adverse outcomes.”
The new estimate was based on health data from more than 29 million people in California from 2005 to 2019. The researchers were able to use the California data in combination with U.S. Census data to develop national estimates. They noted that their new figures were the first such updated calculations in more than 20 years.
Risk factors for developing AFib include high blood pressure, obstructive sleep apnea, obesity, diabetes, excessive alcohol consumption, and smoking.
A separate study, also published Wednesday, showed that quitting smoking could quickly and significantly reduce a person’s risk of AFib. Former smokers had a 13% to 18% lower risk of Afib than current smokers, the new study showed.
Sometimes, medicines or procedures can restore the hearts of people with AFib to normal rhythm. When a regular heartbeat cannot be restored, medications and lifestyle changes can help prevent the condition from worsening.
