fibrillation
noun
fi·bril·la·tion
| \ ˌfi-brə-ˈlā-shən
, ˌfī-\
, ˌfī-\
Definition of fibrillation
1
: an act or process of forming fibers or fibrils
2a
: a muscular twitching involving individual muscle fibers acting without coordination
b
: very rapid irregular contractions of the muscle fibers of the heart resulting in a lack of synchronism between heartbeat and pulse
Examples of fibrillation in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
In November 2017, the company started the Apple Heart study, which looked at whether the pulse sensor on older Apple Watches (Series 1, 2, and 3) could help detect irregular heart rhythms, such as atrial fibrillation. — Beth Mole, Ars Technica, "Apple continues health push with three new medical studies," 10 Sep. 2019 Two years ago Lamb, now 71, was dealing with atrial fibrillation (irregular heartbeat) and decided to back off from coaching at Boston English. — Lenny Megliola, BostonGlobe.com, "Tom Lamb returning to Natick sidelines as an assistant," 28 June 2019 Now new oral anticoagulants are available that are just as effective as warfarin at preventing a stroke in people with atrial fibrillation and normal heart valves. — Howard Lewine, sun-sentinel.com, "Stay on Coumadin or switch to a new blood thinner?," 14 Aug. 2019 Atrial fibrillation is a condition that causes an irregular and often rapid, heart rate. — Kimberly Chin, WSJ, "Johnson & Johnson to Use Apple Watch App for Heart-Health Study," 17 Jan. 2019 Further Reading What is atrial fibrillation, and why is your watch telling you about it? — John Timmer, Ars Technica, "A look at the Apple Watch’s ECG, from someone who needs it," 12 Dec. 2018 The most common kind of arrhythmia is atrial fibrillation. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "Cardiac device maker gets $170 million financing," 20 June 2019 Atrial fibrillation causes more than 750,000 hospitalizations and contributes to an estimated 130,000 deaths annually, the CDC says. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "Cardiac device maker gets $170 million financing," 20 June 2019 The procedure takes about 30 seconds, the Apple Watch can also monitor a wearer's heartbeat for atrial fibrillation or a dangerously low pulse in the background. — Eric Limer, Popular Mechanics, "iPhone XS, iPhone XR, Apple Watch and More: Apple's 2018 iPhone Event Roundup," 12 Sep. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'fibrillation.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for fibrillation
fibrillation
noun
fi·bril·la·tion
| \ ˌfib-rə-ˈlā-shən
, ˌfīb-
\
, ˌfīb-
\
Medical Definition of fibrillation
1
: an act or process of forming fibers or fibrils
2a
: a muscular twitching involving individual muscle fibers acting without coordination
b
: very rapid irregular contractions of the muscle fibers of the heart resulting in a lack of synchronism between heartbeat and pulse — see atrial fibrillation, ventricular fibrillation
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