Sign-in to Ask A Doctor - 24x7
OR
Sign in with Google
What Causes Atrial Fibrillation?
Question: XXXXXX really confused. I just noticed a msg from the sleep center from Friday. I had a sleep study last Saturday and apparently due to the results my doctor wants me to go back for another study and I think the message mentioned a CPAP. Che reason he sent me is they are trying to see if I have AFIB. They are inserting a LOop Recorder on Tuesday. My question is - could I have sleep apnea and could that and AFIB be connected and related to my strokes?
Brief Answer:
Atrial fibrillation and sleep apnea both risk factors for stroke.
Detailed Answer:
I read your question carefully and I understand your concern.
Let me start by explaining those acronyms:
CPAP means Continuous positive airway pressure which signifies using a machine to maintain a positive pressure in your airways all the time during your spontaneous breathing. These machines are commonly used to treat sleep apnea, preventing the airways from closing during sleep.
AFIB as you might know since you've undergone many cardio checkups before, means atrial fibrillation, a sort of abnormal heart rhythm. There is chronic afib easily detected by common EKG, but there are many patients where it's paroxysmal, meaning happening for short periods of time. When it is paroxysmal the EKG may miss those attacks, so when there is a strong suspicion prolonged studies are done.
A loop recorder serves precisely that purpose, it is a device implanted under the skin to record heart rhythm in order to make a prolonged monitoring and detect short infrequent paroxysms of Afib if there are any.
Atrial fibrillation is one of the most common causes of stroke, even when it is only paroxysmal, so since you have had two strokes at a young age, unexplained completely by other factors, there is a strong suspicion of a paroxysmal afib which has been missed and your doctors want to be thorough and do this prolonged monitoring by loop recorder. I think they are trying hard to determine the origin of your stroke in order to prevent them better in the future.
Apart from Afib, sleep apnea also increases the risk for stroke and arrhythmia. I don't know the result of your sleep study, but if they told you CPAP is necessary I guess they must have been indicative of obstructive sleep apnea.
I hope to have answered your question satisfactorily.
Atrial fibrillation and sleep apnea both risk factors for stroke.
Detailed Answer:
I read your question carefully and I understand your concern.
Let me start by explaining those acronyms:
CPAP means Continuous positive airway pressure which signifies using a machine to maintain a positive pressure in your airways all the time during your spontaneous breathing. These machines are commonly used to treat sleep apnea, preventing the airways from closing during sleep.
AFIB as you might know since you've undergone many cardio checkups before, means atrial fibrillation, a sort of abnormal heart rhythm. There is chronic afib easily detected by common EKG, but there are many patients where it's paroxysmal, meaning happening for short periods of time. When it is paroxysmal the EKG may miss those attacks, so when there is a strong suspicion prolonged studies are done.
A loop recorder serves precisely that purpose, it is a device implanted under the skin to record heart rhythm in order to make a prolonged monitoring and detect short infrequent paroxysms of Afib if there are any.
Atrial fibrillation is one of the most common causes of stroke, even when it is only paroxysmal, so since you have had two strokes at a young age, unexplained completely by other factors, there is a strong suspicion of a paroxysmal afib which has been missed and your doctors want to be thorough and do this prolonged monitoring by loop recorder. I think they are trying hard to determine the origin of your stroke in order to prevent them better in the future.
Apart from Afib, sleep apnea also increases the risk for stroke and arrhythmia. I don't know the result of your sleep study, but if they told you CPAP is necessary I guess they must have been indicative of obstructive sleep apnea.
I hope to have answered your question satisfactorily.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Dr. Taka,
Thank you so much for explaining everything. This has been a scary time for me and it really helps to have things clearly explained like that. Thank you so much.
Thank you so much for explaining everything. This has been a scary time for me and it really helps to have things clearly explained like that. Thank you so much.
Brief Answer:
Thank you!
Detailed Answer:
Thank you for your appreciative words!
I would be happy to answer any further questions. If or when you have no more questions (take as much time to think as you need), I would kindly ask you to close the query.
I wish you good health!
Thank you!
Detailed Answer:
Thank you for your appreciative words!
I would be happy to answer any further questions. If or when you have no more questions (take as much time to think as you need), I would kindly ask you to close the query.
I wish you good health!
Note: For further guidance on mental health, Click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
Get personalised answers from verified doctor in minutes across 80+ specialties
