QuoteLindy Please tell me what I am misunderstanding about this: Your risk of developing a spinal or epidural blood clot is higher if: “you have a history of problems with your spine or have had surgery on your spine”. It's a broadly worded warning. Have you investigated it any further? The warning is aimed at recent spinal surgery. If you were planning on spine surgery soon or had hadby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotejpeters Then again, you're not laughing about all the marketing hype about how wonderful Eliquis is, right? In the study I linked above in a population of 24,000 there were a total of 648 heart attacks over a seven year period. All were free of heart disease at the beginning. Those with afib had twice as many. Maybe that's funny? What's your point? There is no establisheby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotewolfpack Yes, we need a NASA-style acronym database. Preferably as a sticky thread, up top above all the others. Yep, for sure. That and a bunch of other stuff. The forum software is dated and needs updating for starters. I think Shannon knows that but he has a full plate for now.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteLindy Carey, I read that information in the black box warning on the information sheet that came with Eliquis. My back surgery was 2 years ago—I had a lumbar 3 level fusion. My gut instincts tell me not to take the Eliquis, even though I have it. I think you're misunderstanding the black box warning and taking the aspirin is actually a greater risk, but obviously it's your choicby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteLindy I took this information to my pharmacist for an explanation because I have had 2 spinal surgeries and I have scoliosis. He looked up information on all the anticoagulants, and they all say the same thing. He said if I were to develop a blood clot while on blood thinners, it would be on my spine and possibly cause paralysis. So, I am not taking blood thinners. However I am taking 2by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
There is no test and no test is needed. Magnesium, multivitamins, probiotics and fish oil are all perfectly fine with Eliquis. The danger of over-anticoagulating and uncontrolled bleeding is hugely exaggerated by just about everyone. Eliquis and the other DOACs aren't like warfarin. They aren't affected much by diet or most supplements and don't swing wildly in their level of anticby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotejpeters "Heart Failure" is even more general. What caused it? To what degree is the heart "failing" ? My guess is that anyone who sustains persistent afib for a few months will show decline that could be labeled "heart failure." Structural heart disease is indeed a very general term, but heart failure is not. Heart failure is a very well defined entity with sby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
A hematoma could have spread along the course of the vein and thus would follow the vein and feel rope-like. If you develop a fever or redness and swelling at the site then by all means have it looked at, but I think it's most likely a hematoma, especially given the bruising. That proves there was bleeding.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Sigh... relative risks. If your risk of something is .01% and you do something to double that risk, what's your risk now? It's .02%, of course, which is still utterly trivial. Relative risks are not good science. They're mostly a good way of taking boring results and making them sound dramatic, so I'm ignoring this study until I can see the actual data.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotejpeters A rather meaningless term. The test is to find out what is going on. As you can see, there are a large variety of varying responses. Heart failure is a meaningless term? Um, no. Perhaps I misunderstood you?by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
I doubt it's phlebitis. What you've described sounds like you had some bleeding at the sites and thus have hematomas. They can feel like hard balls under the skin, and they can be very uncomfortable if they press against the femoral nerve (been there, done that). The good news is they're harmless and don't present a risk of pulmonary embolism. The will resolve on their own, buby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
No experience with Lexiscan but I've seen adenosine administered many times and received it myself three times. It's over within about 10 seconds and has no lasting effects. It's a natural substance produced by your own body. The article posted about stress testing afibbers involved heart failure patients and isn't very applicable to those without heart failure.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
When to go to the ER: When your heart rate exceeds 200 When you experience pain anywhere in the upper torso, jaw, neck or arms When you experience fainting, near-fainting or dizziness When you experience difficulty breathing or shortness of breath When you experience nausea or vomiting And last but not least.... When you just can't take it any longer Until then, you're usuallby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteKen If that was the recognized standard world wide, there probably wouldn't be many ablations. I am 11 years and 10 months afib free. I would call mine a success. If I was back in afib after one year - I would call that a significant failure. It is the recognized standard among top EPs, and frankly I think fewer ablations would be a good thing. Too many EPs are doing ablations whoby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteKen All of those "success" rates are meaningless, unless "success" is defined. That's an excellent point. I've seen many instance of EPs labeling ablations successful when the patient still needed antiarrhythmic drugs to remain in normal rhythm. I've even seen that done in published studies. It's a complete lie, of course. If you need AADs to remainby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotewindyshores Main question:should I be taking something now after a 4 hour episode, to prevent a clot and stroke? No. Your CHADS score is low, and your episodes are infrequent and short. So the risk of an anticoagulant would probably outweigh the risk of stroke. Also, many EPs don't consider the point for being female to be valid. They would say you are in reality a CHADS 1. As forby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteThe Anti-Fib Maybe the 65/50 Stat is is just an honest one. It is an honest one for average EPs but it's not accurate for top EPs. They get well above that.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteLarryZ Carey- I'm not concerned that afib will lead to vfib. I'm concerned that the drug given to speed up your heart rate could produce vfib. After looking at several respectable websites on chemical stress testing, I find that vib, while rare, can occur as a result of the stress drug. Okay, but it's not the drug; it's the stress test itself. In those individualsby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Sports drinks, "health" drinks, energy drinks, soft drinks -- all just sugar water garbage.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
I'd like to know how he knows you would be a very simple case before he has you in the lab. For all he knows you have ectopic sources in places extremely difficult to ablate or that require unusual skills (the LAA, for example). I've been quoted that 90% number before -- several times -- and each time I got the 10% results. The one guy who didn't quote me odds and didn't tellby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
I don't think there's anything about a chemical stress test that makes it more dangerous than a treadmill. There's no reason to think it would lead to v-fib. Afib just doesn't lead to v-fib.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
I agree with wolfpack. Those are miserably bad stats. Medicare won't dictate who you can choose, so don't choose them.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quoterobh I've had two TIA's in last 2 years (so obviously quite serious) and was advised to take Eliquis, but have not done so yet, preferring to use only natural thinners. Quite serious would be an understatement. I'm astonished that you are knowingly exposing yourself to imminent risk of stroke despite having proof that your natural approach isn't working. Whatever risk yby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotecolindo jpeters and carey, I see you are both new to this forum and wonder who you are working for? which drug company. Are you this rude to everyone? Why don't you ask Shannon who I am.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteAnneC Can you tell me how you can differentiate between ectopics - does a PAC feel different than a PVC? Usually, but not always and it's not the same for everyone. A PVC will usually feel more distinct, like a missed beat or an exceptionally powerful beat. PACs can feel the same, but they're usually less pronounced. For example, I used to get PACs in a bigeminal pattern that couby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotelkwetter It seems to me that a-fib is the result of weakened and damaged tissues from years of abuse or inadequate diet or diseases, etc. Then why do people who lead extremely healthy lives get afib and people who lead extremely unhealthy lives don't?by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotejpeters Only when they're ingested via a balanced diet. Never as supplements, or even concentrated green drinks. When that's the case, see them as medicine. Spot on.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
You'll never get consensus on this. Some people say you need to take it easy for weeks while others say it's fine to return to normal activities as soon as the insertion sites are fully healed (5-7 days). I'm in the latter camp myself, but it's a personal thing. If you feel run down, rest and take it easy. If you feel good, go for it. A high heart rate due to exercise shouldn&by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteMarkF786 The first study states that that only 65% of patients were inducible at all, so obviously a skilled EP can perform the procedure without inducing afib. Yes, they can, and only about 65-70% of index ablations succeed. I doubt those numbers are complete coincidences. I'm not arguing anything nor am I questioning your EP's abilities. Not at all! I agree that you'reby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Inducing afib during an ablation has important utilitarian purposes for the procedure itself. It's used to locate ectopic sources and to confirm conduction block. Whether it has predictive value is a minor side issue.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM