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There was a time I was absolutely convinced that MSG was a trigger for me. So I did what I always did with suspected triggers -- I tested it. I went to the store, bought a container of Accent, which is just a brand name for pure MSG. I went home, mixed a whopping tablespoon in a glass of water, and drank it. Nothing happened. Tried the same thing again the next day with two tablespoons anby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteMikeShue I need to figure out the least intrusive way to measure my HRV and will report back when I have learned something. Chest strap and the Elite HRV app.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
George's suggestion makes sense. I can't think of anything better because, like he said, everyone is different. Until you've actually experienced 1:1 conduction and you know how your body reacts, I would stick with the conservative advice and have at least some rate limiter on board.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotejpeters That was the only option? Glad it worked. Yes, cardioversions were my only option for months. There was no other way to stop or slow the flutter. I became a well known frequent flyer at the local ER. After a while they knew I would refuse anything other than propofol and electricity so they quit even suggesting it. And then, thanks to information I found in the archives here, Iby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Okay, I probably shouldn't comment on medicare questions since I'm not very knowledgeable. I'm sure there are very competent clinical electrophysiologists in Louisiana, but I don't think there's anyone on par with Natale. I'm seeing my local EP tomorrow for a routine followup because he's an outstanding EP who I want to maintain a relationship with. I knoby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Interesting, but considering that their results differ dramatically from numerous previous studies, I'm extremely skeptical that warfarin is superior to DOACs as these results seem to suggest. There are a lot of obvious potential confounders and selection biases here, which they tried to account for, but who's to say they succeeded? Offhand, my guess would be that the PSM group tended tby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Why not just switch to a plan that covers out of state doctors should you ever need another one? Switch, get the ablation done, then switch back to the cheaper plan later. I doubt you'll ever need another one after two years of freedom, but if you do I think it's worth a few bucks to go back to Natale. I wouldn't let any other EP in the world touch me at this point (5 failed ablatiby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteMarkF786 It seems atrial flutter with 1:1 conduction is a pretty rare problem. It seems to occur during exercise, particularly if a person in a arrhythmia reverts to NSR during exercise. One interesting thing was that in a retrospective study, in the patients who experienced atrial flutter with 1:1 conduction, they were all on anti-arrhythmia drugs, but half of them were also on a AV nodalby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
This is a subject near and dear to my heart (ha ha), and I've got a few thoughts about it, but I just don't have time right now. I've been exactly where you are now with this issue. Yes, I've experienced 1:1 flutter, but not due to flecainide. My heart was good at doing that all on its own. Yes, I've encountered that disagreement between EPs over adding an AV node blockerby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteBrian_og I see that completely. So why is CHADS VASc ever brought into the equation then by EPs that consider AC? You're basically stating that it's always irrelevant since we never know if we're going into AFib tomorrow or even while we're sleeping? So everyone with Parox AFib should be on AC regardless of their CHADS VASc? I think probably so, yes, but I also thinkby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Too soon. You need to wait at least the full 90 days. It could be that a lesion has healed over like your EP suggested, but sometimes people get late recurrences during the blanking period that eventually settle down and go away. You wouldn't want to repeat an ablation unnecessarily. And if I were you I would also stop the flecainide at 90 days. You'll want to know for sure what your stby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteBrian_og If his CHADS VASc is 0 for instance why would he need to be on anticoagulant? I understand the LAA issue but I've always been confused that if it is the cause of strokes in AFib (and it is) then why even use the CHADS VASc at all? Shouldn't all afibbers be on AC then? If you're in persistent afib then your CHADS-Vasc score is almost irrelevant. You face a strokeby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteFrankInFlorida I guess ~ 85 BPM but rhythm irregular "is still Afib"? Same dangers / issues Yes. If your rate stays under 100 you don't face much heart failure risk, but you mentioned 145 so I'm guessing it doesn't stay low consistently. You still face the stroke risk no matter what your heart rate. You can't just ignore this.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteFrankInFlorida With the usual "risk factor assessment" I was not put on anti-coagulants. I've been curious what toll Afib has on the heart, re: "wrecks your heart", what are the details there - harms valves, shortens lifespan of heart function? Stroke, first and foremost. Maybe you were judged not to need anticoagulants at first, but if you're in afib now aby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Yeah, I get the concept of ECG leading to stress test leading to angiogram, etc. The problem is blaming the doctor who did a perfectly reasonable, cheap, non-invasive screening on his patient. That's not the mistake. And neither is a stress test and echocardiogram to find out if the ECG results were more than a nothing. Those are all perfectly reasonable steps, especially for patients over aby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteMikeShue I was thinking more in terms of using it to monitor my autonomic "readiness" during periods when I'm in NSR. In this way I can avoid hard workouts when my nervous system is compromised (due to lack of sleep, stress, etc.) so as to reduce the risk of triggering an AFib episode. Okay, that will be an interesting experiment. Please keep us updated on how it goes.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotejpeters They are often done at the same time that you have an angiogram, so good luck. Of course they are. They're done during almost any invasive cardiac procedure. But that's not what I said. I said angiograms aren't done based solely on an ECG. I can't think of any invasive procedure that's done based solely on an ECG.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
HRV is utterly meaningless during afib episodes because it can't be measured. I've read what little data there is on HRV as it relates to afib and although there are hints that a low HRV makes afib more likely, there's nothing convincing. I don't really see much use for it.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotejpeters The problem is a large percentage of false positives on any test, that lead to procedures like angioplasty. Anyone undergoing angioplasty or any other invasive procedure based solely on an ECG has a quack for a doctor to begin with.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotejpeters "Usually, you do not need an ECG if you don’t have risk factors for heart disease or symptoms that suggest possible heart disease. The test is not useful in routine checkups for people who do not have risk factors for heart disease such as high blood pressure or symptoms of heart disease, like chest pain." Frankly, I think that advice is a load of crap. I know of aby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotemwcf Thanks guys. Kind of a dumb question I guess! It's just that I live in a quite rural and relatively remote area and I've often wondered about what if anything one could do if one encountered a situation where someone was clearly showing signs of a stroke. Is there a volunteer fire department or ambulance service where you live? If so, you could consider signing up with themby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuotePompon Carey, they may have been unlucky. I'm still surprised knowing many afibbers don't feel their afib. I don't remember having had an ECG before my first afib episode. I was 57. A routine physical includes an ECG. If you'd never had one by the age of 57 either you weren't doing periodic physicals or your PCP was negligent.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Neither. You don't know if the stroke is embolic or hemorrhagic. If it's hemorrhagic giving them either one will help kill them, and if it's embolic it won't help. What they need is an immediate 911 call. At the hospital they'll get a CT scan, and if it's embolic and it's been less than 3 hours since first symptoms, they'll receive tPA, which actually dissoby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Yeah, it's been known since antiquity. QuoteThe proportion of afibbers only diagnosed after a stroke is far from negligible too. Those cases are sad. It says either they weren't receiving competent primary care at all (probably the majority) or some doctor didn't act appropriately.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
If you could feel an irregular pulse and it lasted more than just a few seconds, that was almost certainly afib. With only three episodes in 12 years I would strongly suspect dehydration and/or a temporary electrolyte imbalance.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteKen Will someone explain the differences between afib, flutter, PVC's, PAC's and ectopics? Do all impact circulation? I was successfully ablated 12 years ago, but have had three breakthroughs of something, each lasting a few hours, but years apart. Felt like afib but my heart rate was only in the 90's, not 180's like before. There was shortness of breath when active (by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotejpeters "California law requires that employers, including those in the construction industry, carry workers' compensation insurance, even if they have only one employee." Sure, most states are the same. But I wouldn't bet my house, savings, and future wages on some contractor just saying they comply. An honest contractor will show you proof of insurance without being aby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
If a worker gets injured while doing work for you and his employer doesn't have worker's comp insurance, you become liable. I would never hire any contractor without seeing proof of worker's comp and general liability insurance.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Yeah, using a Kardia to capture fleeting moments that occur at random is very difficult. In 2015 I developed flutter. The episodes always felt very irregular when they began but within seconds they became regular, as is typical for flutter. I suspected it was afib triggering the flutter, but to be sure I had to capture the beginning of an episode. It took me months to do that, and when I finallyby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteLynn Yes, but note that heart failure is grouped under a section of items that says, “Preliminary research suggests”. So I take that to mean that there are perhaps small studies that are favorable for using creatine for heart failure, just not enough to actually recommend for heart failure. You misread it. The “preliminary research suggests” statement applies to using it as a cream forby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM