Medical disorders, which may increase the risk of atrial fibrillation, include cardiomyopathy, congenital heat disease, coronary heart disease, diabetes, heart failure, hypertension, and valvular heart disease (Richards 49). Potentially reversible causes of atrial fibrillation include surgical intervention, acute pulmonary disease, thyroid disease, infection, recreational drug misuse, excessive alcohol intake and autonomic nervous system sensitivity (Skinner 60). In these cases, when the cause is stopped or treated the atrial fibrillation can self terminate. Sometimes there is no known cause. These cases may be the result of an unknown genetic