What Does Atrial Fibrilation On 85% Of The Time Mean?

Posted on Sun, 2 Feb 2014

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sun, 2 Feb 2014 Answered on

Mon, 24 Feb 2014 Last reviewed on

Question : What does it mean when a cardiologist tells his patient (my mother) that she is in afib 85% of the time...does this mean her heart is only functioning 15% of the time....she is 86 and has had afib for at least 10 years..she has a pacemaker to help with her afib, and that is working very well. Thank you.

Answered by Dr. Benard Shehu (1 hour later)

Brief Answer: 15% of time her heart is on sinusal rhythm... Detailed Answer: Hi, The results refer that your mother is having atrial fibrilation on 85% of the time. Yes, you are right, this means that her heart is on sinusal (normal) rhythm 15% of the time. You should not worry as long as the pacemaker is normally functioning and she is taking her medications accordingly. Dr.Benard

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T