When you place your hand on your chest, you can feel the familiar lubdub beat of your heart. If your heart is beating fast instead of beating and this feeling lasts for a few minutes, this is a sign that you may have a condition called atrial fibrillation. You may hear it called AFib for short.

 What is Atrial Fibrillation (AFib)?

 When you have this condition, faulty electrical signals cause your heart to pound or beat too fast. This abnormal rhythm prevents your heart from pumping properly. Your blood flow may slow down enough to build up and form clots. It increases your chances for AFib, stroke, and other heart complications.

 What Are the Symptoms of AFib?

You can feel:

•  heart palpitations a palpitation in your chest
•  Pain and pressure in your chest
•  Confused
•  getting dizzy
•  To faint
•  short of breath
•  Sweaty
•  Tired
•  Weak
•  Not everyone with AFib has a fast or rapid heartbeat. Several things can affect whether you have symptoms and how severe they are, including:
•  Older people your age usually show no symptoms.

 What caused your AFib?

 How much does it affect your heart's pumping ability?

 How Does AFib Feel?

You may feel a palpitation or tremor in your chest when your heart beats. Your heart may beat, pound, or race faster than usual. The feeling usually lasts for a few minutes. Sometimes your heart skips a beat.

 A regular heartbeat, or what your doctor calls a normal sinus rhythm, is the 'Lub dub, lubdub' sound. Your heart contracts and relaxes to move blood from the upper chambers (called the atria) to the lower chambers (ventricles) and throughout your body.

 How much will it take?

Doctors classify AFib by how long your symptoms last. The fluttering takes longer in some formats than others:

•  Paroxysmal fibrillation lasting 7 days or less
•  Persistent AFib lasts more than 7 days
•  Persistent AFib does not go away

 If your AFib persists for months or years, you may reach the point where you barely notice the symptoms. Sometimes they don't go away on their own. Your doctor may have to treat you to get your heart back to its correct rhythm.

 When Should I Call a Doctor?

Call your doctor if your heart does not return to its normal rhythm within a few minutes or if your symptoms worsen. Call 911 right away if you have these symptoms, which could be signs of a heart attack or stroke:

•  Pain or pressure in the middle of your chest that lasts longer than a few minutes
•  Pain radiating to your jaw, neck, arms, back, or stomach
•  Nausea
•  cold sweat
•  saggy face
•  arm weakness
•  trouble speaking
•  Your doctor will do tests to check your heartbeat and electrical impulses in your heart. These and other tests can show whether you have atrial fibrillation.
•  If you havean  arrhythmia, you may receive treatment to restore your normal rhythm.