Atrial flutter - these are the symptoms!

introduction

Atrial flutter can be associated with many different symptoms.
The focus is on the complaints that affect the heart. These include a sudden racing heart, an irregular pulse (also called arrhythmia) or a palpitations. In the case of an already long-lasting illness, secondary symptoms such as heart failure can also be triggered. The atrial flutter also affects the lungs, which can lead to shortness of breath.
The blood flow to the brain can also be affected, causing dizziness and fainting spells. Atrial flutter can be permanent, but there are also variants in which it occurs more like attacks and disappears again after a short time.

Symptoms of atrial flutter

The following symptoms are more common with atrial flutter:

• Racing heart
• Stumbling of the heart (= palpitation)
• Arrhythmia (abnormal heart rhythm) irregular pulse
• Heart failure
• Shortness of breath
• Decreased efficiency
• Dizziness, fainting spells
• stroke
• Fear, anxiety

Irregular heartbeat

The atrial flutter is associated with a significantly increased pulse rate in the atria. By definition, the pulse of the atria is 250 to 450 beats per minute.

For more information, see: Increased pulse - when is a pulse considered too high?

With healthy stimulus transmission, the AV node (a switching station that sits between the atria and the ventricles) should filter the high frequencies and thus protect against an overly fast heartbeat of the ventricles. However, the AV node is usually not able to filter so many of the atrial actions that a normal pulse of the heart chambers of around 80 beats per minute is possible. Instead, a heart rate of around 140 beats per minute usually occurs. In many sufferers, the AV node cannot continuously filter out all the impulses from the fluttering atria. Instead, there is an irregular flow from the atria into the ventricles, which creates an irregular heartbeat in the ventricles. The transmission of the atrial impulses can range from 1: 1 transmission (every beat in the atria is transmitted) to 1: 4 transmission (only every fourth beat is transmitted into the ventricles).

Read more about the anatomy and function of the AV node at: AV node

Palpitations, palpitations and absolute arrhythmia

The racing heart describes the feeling of a heartbeat that is clearly too fast. In technical jargon, this is also called tachycardia. Usually one speaks of such a tachycardia when the heart chambers beat with an increased frequency.

For more information, see: Racing heart

Atrial flutter initially only refers to an increased beat frequency of the atria, which is usually between 250 and 450 beats per minute. Normally, the AV node, which lies between the atria and the ventricles, filters out the excess atrial actions and thus ensures a calm and regular heartbeat in the ventricles. However, this filter function of the AV node is often disturbed.

Read more about: Atrial Flutter and The Function of the AV Node

A heart stumble occurs when the AV node usually ensures that the ventricles work properly and only occasionally too many impulses are passed on from the atria.

You might also be interested in: How to recognize palpitations

An absolute arrhythmia occurs when the AV node can no longer maintain its function. In this case, almost all electrical impulses from the atria are passed on into the ventricles. The heart muscle cells can no longer relax properly between the individual impulses. This leads to irregular chaos when the heart muscles contract. This condition is also called absolute arrhythmia.

For more information, see: Abnormal heart rhythm (arrhythmia)

Heart pain

If a person suffers from atrial flutter, a so-called heartache can occur.
The pumping action of the heart is acutely and severely disturbed, especially when the atrial flutter lasts for a short time. This results in a poor ejection rate, so that too little blood enters the circulation for a short time. The low blood flow can also affect the heart itself, as the coronary arteries (like all other blood vessels in the body) are not supplied with enough blood. This creates a nutritional and oxygen deficiency in the heart muscles. The irregular pumping actions of the heart muscle cells also prevent a phase in which the heart is completely relaxed. Normally, the heart muscles are only supplied with blood during the relaxation phase (diastole). The lack of relaxation also leads to a lower blood flow to the heart muscle cells.

Read more about:

• Heart pain
• Circulatory disorder of the heart

Loss of performance

Atrial flutter leads to an altered ejection rate of the heart due to the irregular action of the atria. Most of the time, the flutter affects not only the atria, but also the ventricles, to which the frequent impulses are partly transmitted, causing irregular heartbeats. This condition alone can be associated with a general loss of performance.
During physical activity, the body depends on the heart on the one hand increasing its beat frequency, on the other hand a slightly increased volume of blood is pumped into the circulation with each beat. Both mechanisms are supposed to lead to an improved blood flow, especially to the muscles. This mechanism can be disturbed by the atrial flutter.

Shortness of breath

The shortness of breath that occurs with conditions such as atrial flutter can have several causes.
On the one hand, the atrial flutter leads to a generally reduced performance of the heart. This also reduces the ejection rate, so that a slightly reduced amount of blood is pumped into the circulation with each heartbeat. The organs are supplied with less blood and thus receive less oxygen. This slight lack of oxygen can usually be compensated for in peace and quiet. However, as soon as someone becomes physically active, the body uses more oxygen. This increased need may not be adequately supplied due to the sick heart.
In addition, the reduced performance of the heart triggers a backflow of blood into the lungs. This back pressure disrupts the absorption of oxygen from the air into the blood, which in turn leads to a lack of oxygen. This mechanism, too, can initially be compensated for at rest and is initially particularly noticeable during physical exertion. If the heart stumbles suddenly (sometimes only for a short time), all heart activity is briefly out of rhythm. This is often accompanied by acute shortness of breath, and sometimes with sharp pain in the chest.

For more information, see: Difficulty breathing due to a weak heart

Fear and inner unrest

A type of anxiety called heart anxiety can occur in connection with various heart conditions.
This discomfort is often caused by a palpitations, tightness in the chest, or pressure on the chest. Typically, atrial flutter is more likely to stumble your heart. The cause of atrial flutter is a disturbance in the conduction of the heart. This leads to incorrect information being passed on to the heart muscle cells, so that the heart beats with a significantly increased frequency. In addition, irregularities in this transmission of stimuli can lead to heart stumbling. The feeling of pressure and tightness, which can also trigger anxiety and inner restlessness, mostly comes from a reduced blood supply to the heart, which is also due to the irregular pumping actions.

Similar topics you might be interested in:

• Atrial fibrillation

sweat

Fluttering of the auricles is associated with increased sweating or sudden outbreaks of sweating in many people.
Atrial flutter brings the cardiovascular system out of rhythm. In doing so, it causes the body to re-regulate the balance between the sympathetic (activating nervous system) and the parasympathetic (relaxing nervous system). This can also trigger increased sweat production.
In contrast to sweating during physical exertion, people affected by atrial flutter often get cold sweats. This physical reaction can also be related to the fact that the brain is no longer adequately supplied with blood due to the irregular heart action. The sweating in this case can be an expression of the fact that the affected person is passing out.

dizziness

The atrial flutter usually means that the pumping actions of the heart chambers are no longer as targeted and effective as those of a healthy heart. This reduces the performance of the heart.
However, in people who stand for a long time or who do physical activity, the heart should be able to improve its output. When standing, more blood has to be pumped into the head against the force of gravity, while physical activity generally increases the body's need for oxygen. Symptoms such as dizziness or even fainting fits (so-called syncope) occur when the blood supply to the brain is no longer adequately guaranteed. In the case of atrial flutter, this is due to the reduced cardiac output.

Stroke risk

Atrial flutter is characterized by a greatly increased beat frequency of the atria.
Since the atrial flutter is associated with beat frequencies between 250 and 450 beats per minute, the individual heartbeats can no longer be coordinated. Instead of the blood being pumped from the atria in a targeted manner into the heart chambers, the blood becomes turbulent in the area of ​​the atria. In some places the blood is transported particularly quickly, in other places vortices form and again in other places a particularly slow blood flow occurs. This slow blood flow promotes the formation of blood clots. These are only small at first, but also hinder the flow of blood in the atrium. This in turn creates new turbulence.
This creates a vicious circle that leads to the formation of larger blood clots (so-called thrombi). If these thrombi become detached from the atrial wall, they can enter the left ventricle. From there, the blood clots are easily carried into the body's main artery. At the next branching of the vessels, the thrombi either remain in the main artery (aorta) or they migrate with the blood flow through the carotid artery to the head. These clots now adhere to narrow points in the blood vessels of the brain and block these vessels. As a result, the brain tissue behind is no longer supplied. A stroke occurs.

Also read: These are the signs of a stroke

Alcohol-induced atrial flutter

It has long been known that excessive alcohol consumption can trigger atrial flutter. Such atrial flutter is also known as “Holiday Heart Syndrome”, as the symptoms occurred more frequently after the exuberant partying.
However, recent studies show that even small amounts of alcohol consumption of one to six drinks a week can promote such atrial flutter. A mechanism is believed to be behind the phenomenon, which works by controlling basic body functions in the brain. Normally there is a balance in the body between the sympathetic nervous system ("activating nervous system") and the parasympathetic nervous system (nervous system designed for rest). The influence of alcohol on the brain can upset this balance. As a result, the heart is exposed to increased stress. Atrial flutter can develop from this.

For more information on the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, see: Autonomic Nervous System

Regular alcohol consumption can also damage the heart muscle cells and cause scarred changes in the heart, which can also trigger cardiac arrhythmias. The symptoms of alcohol-induced atrial flutter do not usually differ from the symptoms of "normal" atrial flutter.

Read more about "racing heart after alcohol" at: Holiday Heart Syndrome