Atrial Flutter

Healthy lifestyle choices can help manage atrial flutter and improve your heart’s health. Consider these changes:

• Eat a heart-healthy diet: Focus on fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean proteins.
• Exercise regularly: Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise most days of the week, but check with your doctor first to see if you have any limits or restrictions.
• Avoid stimulants: Cut back on alcohol, caffeine and other substances that can trigger irregular heart rhythms.
• Manage stress: Practices like meditation or yoga can help reduce stress, which may worsen symptoms.

Medications play a key role in managing atrial flutter by helping to control your heart rate, restore a normal rhythm and lower the risk of serious complications like stroke. Your doctor may recommend one or more of the following:

• Antiarrhythmic drugs: These medications help correct the heart’s rhythm and prevent future episodes of atrial flutter.
• Anticoagulants: Also known as blood thinners, these medications can prevent blood clots from forming, lowering your risk of stroke.
• Beta-blockers and calcium-channel blockers: These medications slow down your heart rate, helping it beat more efficiently and reducing symptoms.

When medications aren't enough, several procedures are available to help correct atrial flutter. These treatments target the irregular electrical signals causing your symptoms. Many people with atrial flutter experience significant improvement or complete resolution after these procedures, allowing them to return to normal activities with improved quality of life.

• Electrical cardioversion: During electrical cardioversion, a doctor will place paddles or patches on your chest to deliver electric shocks that reset the heart's rhythm. This procedure resets the heart but does not prevent the arrhythmia from coming back. You may need to take follow-up medications to maintain a normal heart rhythm.
• Catheter ablation: Ablation uses catheters inserted into your blood vessels and guided to your heart to deliver heat or cold energy. This energy creates small scars that block abnormal electrical signals. This treatment is designed to correct atrial flutter—and in some cases, it may even offer a complete cure.