Diagnostic and therapeutic approaching to the auricular fibrillation

Abstract

The auricular fibrillation is the most outstanding arrhythmia the general physician affronts. Tightly associated to ageing and chronic vascular disease, its presence is related to the risk of increasing the thromboembolic morbimortality. The objective of the work is consequently updating the clinic-therapeutic approach to auricular fibrillation. A bibliographic search was carried out in SciELO-Cuba, SciELO-regional, PubMed, CUMED and Clinical Key, looking for everything related to the theme in the period 2012-2015. The following key words were used: auricular fibrillation, diagnosis, therapeutics and integral care. The approach in auricular fibrillation is integral, multidisciplinary and individualized. The clinical method plays an important role at the moment of recognizing and recording the disease´s main clinical manifestations, physiopathology and etiology, and complementary tests confirm its presence or complications. Several forms were classified for standardizing medical behavior and ensuring the patient´s safety, in relation with frequency control, cardioversion, recurrence prevention and systemic thromboembolism. The most powerful weapon against the challenge of the auricular fibrillation is the integrative vision, with a social and individual view, hoisted by the physician in the long and difficult way this heart dysrhythmia imposes.