September - AFIB Awareness Month

September - AFIB Awareness Month

September is Atrial Fibrillation awareness month.

Atrial Fibrillation (Afib) is a type of irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia) that affects the electrical signals in the top two chambers of the heart. This can cause the heart to beat very erratically and inefficiently.   Consequently, 15-20% of strokes are caused by AFIB.

A majority of individuals living with AFIB who are receiving treatment lead normal active lives. Without treatment however it can affect your quality of life, the main complications of AFIB are stroke and heart failure.  There are effective treatments for Afib, but the challenge is detecting it early.  In its early stages Afib is often intermittent without symptoms.

Roughly 350,000 Canadians are currently living with AFIB. The risk for developing AFIB increases with age and:

• Diabetes
• High Blood Pressure
• Underlying Heart Disease

If you have any of these risk factors, monitoring for AFIB is important. You can now monitor your blood pressure and screen for AFIB at home with the BIOS Precision Series 10.0 Blood Pressure Monitor.