According to the American Heart Association, one out of every four adults over the age of 40 could develop atrial fibrillation, which is defined as an irregular heartbeat.

Approximately 2.2 million people living in the United States have been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation. The condition accounts for almost 15 percent to 20 percent of stroke cases and is considered the most common of heart rhythm disorders.

It could also lead to a number of negative health repercussions such as an increased risk of stroke, death and an overall reduction in the quality of life.

Atrial fibrillation causes a quivering in the two upper chambers of the heart as opposed to having it beat effectively. When this happens, blood is unable to pump completely out of them, which could then lead to clotting. The formation of blood clots could then travel from the heart to the brain, which results in an ischemic stroke.

Atrial fibrillation is often a "silent" condition, meaning that some patients do not detect any changes with their heart rhythm and therefore are walking around undiagnosed, oblivious to the fact they have the condition.

A Study of Medical Histories and Electrocardiograms

• Participants included 3,999 men and 4,726 women who were studied between the years of 1968-1999

• Throughout the course of the study, 936 of the participants developed atrial fibrillation and 2,621 died without prior history of atrial fibrillation

• The researchers concluded that once a person turned 40 years of age, their average lifetime risk for developing atrial fibrillation was 26 percent for men and 23 percent for women

To put these findings into perspective, researchers took the lifetime risk for breast cancer for a 70-year-old woman, which is one in 14, and compared it to that same person's remaining lifetime risk of atrial fibrillation, one in four.

One expert stressed the importance of looking into taking a more preventative approach to atrial fibrillation and finding some more effective forms of therapy. They also recommended that people learn how to take their own pulse as a way to monitor whether or not they have developed the condition.

Circulation August 16, 2004;110

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

One simple solution for this condition would be to make certain you are eating enough high-quality omega-3 fats, as these are clearly helpful in normalizing heart arrhythmias. Several studies have shown that a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids can reduce the risk of sudden cardiac death. Omega-3 fats are essential to your heart health. One of the best ways to make sure you have enough omega-3 in your diet is by regularly consuming fish oil. It's important to use a high-quality oil to ensure that the product is fresh and purified of mercury and other toxins. Carlson's fish oil is one of the best brands I've come across; you can look for it in your local health food store or in our online store. Emotional influences are another factor to keep under close watch as they can significantly change one's heart rhythm. PVCs or PACs are other types of irregular heart rhythms that are typically far less dangerous than atrial fibrillation. PVCs are notoriously amenable to complete improvement with bioenergetic techniques. I have used EFT a number of times now to successfully eliminate those problems. Atrial fibrillation is a more complex and persistent problem that requires rigid application of the nutrition plan in addition to EFT. I have also used EFT to either significantly reduce the dangerous medications that a person is using for their atrial fibrillation or to completely eliminate it. If you are interested in finding out how you can learn EFT please go to the EFT Resource Page to find a number of different options that are available. Related Articles: Fish Oil Reduces Risk of Irregular Heartbeat Stress Can Trigger Irregular Heartbeat Atrial Fibrillation Kill Some Heart Cells or Normalize Them? Eating Fish Prevents Heart Attacks Not Any Old Fish Food Will Reduce Heart Attacks The Miracle of Magnesium