Atrial Fibrillation Fact Sheet
Artial fibrillation, often called AFib or AF, is the most common type of heart arrhythmia. An arrhythmia is when the heart beats too slowly, too fast, or in an irregular way. When a person has AFib, the normal beating in the upper chambers of the heart (the two atria) is irregular, and blood doesn’t flow as well as it should from the atria to the lower chambers of the heart (the two ventricles). AFib may occur in brief episodes, or it may be a permanent condition.
AFib Facts1
•An estimated 2.7–6.1 million people in the United States have AFib. With the aging of the U.S. population, this number is expected to increase.
•Approximately 2% of people younger than age 65 have AFib, while about 9% of people aged 65 years or older have AFib.
•African Americans are less likely than those of European descent to have AFib.
•Because AFib cases increase with age and women generally live longer than men, more women than men experience AFib.
AFib Symptoms
Some people who have AFib don’t know they have it and don’t have any symptoms. Others may experience one or more of the following symptoms:
•Irregular heartbeat
•Heart palpitations (rapid, fluttering, or pounding)
•Lightheadedness
•Extreme fatigue
•Shortness of breath
•Chest pain