Is a flutter worse than AFib?

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.