Do you need to treat atrial flutter?

Symptoms of atrial flutter are similar to those of AFib. They include a fluttering feeling in the chest, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, lightheadedness, dizziness, fatigue, and difficulty exercising .

The symptoms of atrial flutter tend to be less severe than the symptoms of AFib . People with atrial flutter have a tendency to develop AFib, even after treatment.

Pharmacologic Cardioversion Dofetilide is effective in 70-80% of patients with atrial flutter. This drug should be initiated in an inpatient setting. Ibutilide [17, 18, 19, 20] is also effective, converting recent-onset atrial flutter to sinus rhythm in 63% of patients with a single infusion.

Although atrial flutter is usually not life-threatening at first , it does limit how well your heart pumps blood. This can cause a clot to form in your heart. If the clot breaks loose, it could lead to a stroke. Over time, atrial flutter can weaken your heart muscle.

Currently, atrial flutter is successfully “cured” by radiofrequency catheter ablation ; but treatment to restore atrial fibrillation to sinus rhythm has been the traditional use of medications and external cardioversion.

In atrial fibrillation, the atria beat irregularly. In atrial flutter, the atria beat regularly, but faster than usual and more often than the ventricles , so you may have four atrial beats to every one ventricular beat.

Atrial flutter is a condition where the atria of the heart rapidly and regularly beat due to an anomaly in the heart’s electrical system that usually results in a tachycardia. It produces feelings like near-fainting, rapid heartbeats (palpitations), mild shortness of breath, and fatigue .