Hi Hazist.  I'm not a doctor, and have had no medical training beyond basic first aid, so frame everything I'm about to say in that context.

I've had three episodes of afib in my life.  The first episode happened when I was 27.  I was in the military, doing intense training before a deployment.  I was probably burning 4000 calories a day, and consuming as much with McDonalds for lunch and breakfast, and Subway for lunch, then half of a bottle of vodka and a pack of cigarettes in the evening and finishing up the day with 3-4 hours of sleep.  At the time I was asking a lot from my body and not treating it very well in return.  The result was a 12 hour episode of atrial fibrillation.  It resolved itself after I consumed a lot of potassium (OJ and bananas).

The next episode was 8 years later.  I was on a diuertic which caused my potassium levels to plumet.  I woke up one morning in afib.  I ate 4 bananas, and my rythm went back to normal.

A few months later, I quit smoking.  I developed some digestive problems from nicotine withdrawl, and as a result, my body was not absorbing nutrients from  food as well.  That resulted in low potassium, and another 4 hour episode of afib until I was able to bring my potassium back up (low sodium V8 and bananas that time).

Though the above has nothing to do with your question, I wanted to share with you the cause and solution to my afib episodes.  My doctor had no idea about the link between afib and potassium, but three episodes of afib resolving each time shortly after consuming a lot of potassium cannot be just coincidence.

My suggestion to you would be to increase your potassium and magnesium consumption.  For potassium: bananas, avacado, low sodium v8 (useses potassium instead of sodium) are good sources of potassium.  For magnesium: raw nuts and green leafy vegetables are good.  Try that for at least a month, and see if it helps.

I asked the same question you did about stroke to my doctor.  He said basically the longer you are in afib, the greater your chance.  Also, coming out of afib and back into normal rythm has the potential to dislodge a formed clot (potentially causing a stroke).

There is a good afib forum : forum.stopafib.org

You're a young person, seemingly in good health.  If I were you, I would try to determine the cause of your afib and see if you can correct it without drugs or surgery.  Afib often does progress as time goes on, so nip it in the bud if you can.

Hi Hahzist:

What you are experiencing now may not be atrial fibrillation, but rather, just anxiety caused heart palpitations. One way to tell would be to wear a holter or event monitor. An event monitor might be better, as you wear it for 2-4 weeks and you hit a button when you feel a flutter, and it records it.

I would think you would need to be in A-fib for more than a few seconds to have an increased risk of stroke, especially at your age. Please keep in mind, atrial fibrillation is not life threatening.