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An alternative to a pacemaker doesn't sound likely from what you've told us. Has he tried other anticoagulants? Although some people don't tolerate warfarin well, that doesn't usually carry over to the other anticoagulants.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
That's known as albuterol in the US, and yes, it can cause tachycardia and palpitations so it could possibly trigger afib. What do you mean by life threatening A/F? Afib isn't normally life threatening.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Anecdotal negative outcomes and misleading statements such as "Even dr. Natalie has to do more than one ablation on his patients" aren't helpful. What happened to one patient out of thousands is largely irrelevant and all it does is stoke fear. Try a little empathy for new patients who are terrified and know nothing about afib. Yes, bad outcomes happen in all medical procedures anby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Could you possibly be a little more understanding of new people here looking for information and reassurance and a little less concerned with engaging in tit-for-tats with me?by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
I'm sure glad I'm not someone newly diagnosed with afib who's terrified, considering ablation but unsure what to do, and who happens across this thread.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Afib and PVCs aren't the same thing. Completely different issues. Frequent PVCs can cause the chambers of the heart to beat out of sync, which will worsen heart failure, and it sounds like that was his primary issue aside from heart failure. A pacemaker won't eliminate afib or PVCs, but it will keep the heart in a synchronized rhythm. So yes, it will "fix" the PVCs but has noby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Wolfpack is right. The purpose of the pacemaker is to bring his heart rate back to normal levels. From what you've told us that's the right thing to do.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
There's nothing wrong with seeking information, but posting hearsay and anecdotes about terrible outcomes with no factual information helps no one and is actually harmful to some people. You haven't provided any factual information but you've provided scary anecdotes. I'm just suggesting that if you want to provide information then by all means do so, but don't just tossby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Name a medical procedure and people have died from them. Tonsils, root canals, you name it. If you're interested in discussing complication rates for ablations, I think it would be helpful to find and post factual information rather than just mentioning a single case you heard about and speculating on how many more there are. That's nothing but fear mongering. As I said, the numbers areby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
The crackly lungs aren't due to infection. It's fluid buildup caused by his heart failure. And yeah, bisoprolol with a HR < 30 is a bad idea but they've got a difficult line to walk between the bradycardia and the heart failure. This isn't a good scenario.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteElizabeth Even dr. Natalie has to do more than one ablation on his patients, perhaps they are the more difficult ones. We always read about the ablations that have been successful, we don't hear about any ablations that have ended badly, either in death or the person is worse off. I do recall a man that was a doctor and had an ablation at the University of. Michigan, Ann Arbor thatby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteJoe Based an reports from people on this forum Dr Natale and other experienced EPs have greater success rates. If they pre-selected by this new method the 'difficult' patients would probably missed out on a ablation? Maybe i misunderstood the video? Nah, you didn't misunderstood the video, but I doubt the technology will be used to deny ablations. More likely it will be usby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
I hope it works too, but even if it does -- which is iffy since a large percentage of new drugs fail clinical trials -- don't expect to see the drug available for several years.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
What makes you think they're wrong?by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Offhand my vote would be none of the above, but who are you talking about? Why are they hospitalized? What other treatments were they receiving?by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteSueChef Cardiac Electrophysiology -- but nowhere can I find that he is a genuine real certified EP, so I don't know what the designation Cardiac Electrophysiology means here. He is not a fellow of the Heart Rhythm Society according to their search page. He is certified in internal medicine and cardiology by the American Board of Internal Medicine but not electrophysiology. Bby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteNickC INR was 4.4 at last check, heart rate is fluctuating sometimes down to 25bpm. Is it possible that the heart just doesn't like overly thin blood? No, there's some other cause. In fact, blood thinners don't actually make your blood thinner. That's just an old, misleading name for anticoagulants. But 25 is pretty low and is getting into dangerous territory (faintingby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteRussellG The plan is for an ablation just for the flutter, followed by 3-4 weeks of anti-coagulant therapy. I suppose treating the A fib would be considered afterward. How do I find out how many procedures he's done? He is Dr. Ali Sovari out of Oxnard, California. Walk away. Do not do this. He's proposing doing two procedures when you need only one. The only reason I can imagineby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Well, they put you on a 3-day holter so that's a decent amount of monitoring. Now that you describe the discussion again I don't think he's planning on doing a flutter-only ablation now and an afib ablation later. He's planning on doing just one ablation for both. (Whew!) But the aspirin really, really concerns me. It's been shown to be significantly less effective atby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Leafy greens have no effect on aspirin. They also have no effect on the direct oral anticoagulants like Pradaxa, Eliquis, etc. They're only an issue with warfarin, which you won't be on or they would have already started you on it. And even people on warfarin are free to eat leafy greens. They just have to be careful about being consistent. A spinach salad every single day is perfectlyby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Do I understand correctly that you're taking only aspirin? And your EP wants to do an ablation in two weeks with aspirin as your only medication?by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteElizabeth If Robertsons left Atrial Appendage was removed then he would have to been on a blood thinner, still got a stroke. L No, he wouldn't necessarily have been on an anticoagulant if he'd had his LAA removed. It's quite the opposite. Once your LAA is removed (or closed by a device) your risk of stroke from the atria drops by over 90%, so people are often able to stop aby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteBileswil 1. Is it normal to take a month to see the cardiologist again? Sounds like he has a busy schedule. Unfortunately, yes. Quote 2. I am now on Cartia Xt, a calcium inhibitor, and Eloquis, could this cause my PVC’s? Idid not have them before my afib episode. No, they're not the cause. The Cartia (generic name diltiazem) is a calcium channel blocker. It will slow your hearby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotesmackman It was not a brand version of the same beta blocker because silverscripts would not approve it. Silverscripts will only approve non generic drugs if it does not have a generic. I don't blame them. I won't buy name brand drugs if a generic exists either. It sounds like the doctor wrote a prescription for Toprol or something like that when he could have just written a presby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotesmackman It does bother me there is no “reversing agent” for Any of the newer blood thinners besides Pradaxa. There is, it just hasn't been approved by the FDA yet. I believe it's expected to be this year. I'm curious what beta blocker your father was prescribed that was expensive. Beta blockers are all generally inexpensive.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteAB Page I had the classic symptoms, extreme. If you’ve ever experienced an “impending sense of doom” you know it’s a horrible experience. Beyond question, I was in anaphylaxis. Okay, then I guess my memory of your episode is wrong. What I recall was basically a significant drop in BP, but that alone isn't typical of anaphylaxis. It comes with more than that.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Your description of the reaction never sounded to me like an allergic reaction in the first place. I'm skeptical that it was. What would I do? I would do what I did with penicillin. I had been told as a child that I might be allergic to penicillin so to just avoid it in the future. That's what I did for 30+ years and then my PCP questioned the allergy and offered to test it. All I hby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteJackie This notation about Pradaxa is dated 2014. Pradaxa (dabigatran) - one of the new oral agents has a potential safety signal – though very controversial at the current time, some data suggest an increase in heart attack and acute coronary syndrome in some patients with the use of this new drug (Daiichi Sankyo 2014). Wrong link? That link is about edoxaban, a completely diffby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Sounds pretty cool and has some huge benefits over regular pacemakers. It's certainly attractive from a number of perspectives but it is fairly new. A quick search doesn't find much in the way of independent studies but that's not surprising with it being so new. The questions you ask are good ones. Make them answer them to your satisfaction before you make a decision.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteElizabeth I thought because Pradaxa has an anti-dote that it would be safer to take. Well, it currently has that advantage, but I think you may be overestimating the risk of anticoagulants. The availability of a reversal agent is going to make a difference for only a very tiny number of people taking it. This will all be a moot question soon anyway since reversal agents for Eliquis andby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM