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Atrial fibrillation: Common, serious, treatable
Sometimes the mechanisms that regulate the heart rate and rhythm go awry. Doctors call these disorders arrhythmias; they come in many varieties, but the most common sustained arrhythmia of all is atrial fibrillation (AF).
What is AF?
The human heart is divided into four pumping chambers. The two upper chambers are called the atria; they collect blood from the veins, then pump it into the two ventricles, larger and stronger chambers that propel the blood out from the heart to the rest of the body.
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