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atrial fibrillation

American  
[ey-tree-uhl fib-ruh-ley-shuhn] / ˈeɪ tri əl ˌfɪb rəˈleɪ ʃən /

noun

Pathology.
  1. a cardiac arrhythmia, or irregular heartbeat, caused by rapid, chaotic electrical impulses to the atria. AF, AFib.


Etymology

Origin of atrial fibrillation

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

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See Examples For:

Doctors are changing their referral practices for the Watchman device because there has been a lot of evidence published in recent months about the risk of stroke for people with atrial fibrillation, Mahoney said.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 29, 2026

The model was designed to assess the risk of coronary artery disease, stroke, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, peripheral artery disease and venous thromboembolism.

From Science Daily Jul. 19, 2026

It’s a common alternative for patients with atrial fibrillation who can’t take long-term blood thinners.

From Barron's May 27, 2026

For example, portfolio company Laminar, which developed a treatment for certain patients with the heart-rhythm disorder atrial fibrillation, was acquired by Johnson & Johnson in 2023, a down year for M&A, he said.

From The Wall Street Journal Feb. 12, 2026

The positive result came after Bayer stopped a trial of the same drug to prevent stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation two years ago, because an existing treatment called apixaban performed better.

From MarketWatch Nov. 24, 2025

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