Do you know about atrial fibrillation?

That strange, fluttery feeling in your chest could be serious.

It could be atrial fibrillation (A-fib), a type of abnormal heart rhythm (arrhythmia) that causes the heart to pump blood ineffectively. A-fib is the most common type of persistent heart arrhythmia and it affects almost 5 million Americans.

What is a heart arrhythmia?

 Did you think about your heartbeat today?

If you’re like most Americans, you probably didn’t give it much thought, even though your heart was beating constantly, anywhere from 60 to 100 beats a minute.

Normally, the heart’s electrical system causes the heart muscle to contract in a regular, controlled pattern. However, a problem anywhere along the electrical pathway causes a disturbance in the heart rhythm. This could lead to an irregular heart rhythm or a heart rate that’s too fast or too slow.