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QuoteDaisy People on the plane were happy to lift it in and out of the overhead for me. *raises hand* When I got on my flight back home after my Watchman procedure, wherein Natale himself had stressed to me how they use large catheters for the procedure and to be extremely cautious about the lifting restriction, a rather short, elderly woman was having difficulty putting her carry-on into tby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Okay, it's great that he has a CHADS score of zero! Even an EP might prescribe low-dose aspirin for that or even nothing at all. Having the metoprolol for use as needed is also good, just make sure he understands that "as needed" means if his resting heart rate is over 100 for a prolonged period (hours not days). The flecainide? Eh, at this point it sounds like he can forego that uby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Yeah, I understand, just telling you what your options are. Yes, you can send them results from a different cardiologist. They take patients from all over the world so this is something they've done thousands of times. Wait time figure 2-3 months. The consult will be conducted remotely or on the day prior to your procedure. By the time Natale (or any EP) has seen your medical recordsby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotecolindo Wouldn't that also lower my normal blood pressure, there must have been some reason why beta blockers weren't prescribed. You mean aside from your doctor simply overlooking it? Don't kid yourself that that doesn't happen. Yes, it will lower your BP. So what's your normal BP range now?by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotecottagerose Thanks for your reply on this. I was unaware that aspirin is not recommended for afib, as two different doctors have asked him to take it. Can you point me to more resources on this? That's the problem with doctors who aren't EPs. They haven't kept up with continuing medical education in the afib arena because it's not what they treat, and what was taught 20by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
There are no in-person follow ups. After the ablation you are assigned a nurse practitioner who will be your contact for the next few weeks. It may vary from one NP to another, but mine asked only for a weekly Kardia reading. If I had questions, I usually emailed and got a reply within 24 hours. I went by myself so no extra plane fare. You just have to know how to pack light so your carry onby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Can you afford about $25,000 USD? Natale does accept self-pay patients and their cash price is about the same as what the insurance companies negotiate.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotecolindo No, I am taking flecainide, pradaxa.and nothing else. You might want to reconsider that. It would probably eliminate the tachycardia and it also offers protection against 1:1 conduction, a rare but potentially fatal side effect of flecainide.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotecottagerose His doctor asked him to take a baby aspirin each day, but since we prefer to go as natural as possible, he found some research from Dr. Michael Gregor recommending the medicinal use of cumin instead of aspirin, so he's taking the equivalent amount of salicylic acid in food grade cumin that would be in a baby aspirin (he has since started bruising easily, so I assume the blooby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Flecainide does not cause an elevated heart rate. On the contrary, it slightly lowers heart rate, so the flecainide isn't causing this. Are you taking a beta blocker with the flecainide?by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Call your EP's office and tell them about the side effects. That's a really hefty dose you're taking and could probably be cut in half. And if that doesn't solve the problem, it can be changed to any of several other drugs. PS- This isn't advice, but if I were in your shoes I would cut the dose in half on my own if they didn't get back to me promptly. There'by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
There's no standard on this. It's a judgement call on your EP's part, taking into account your symptoms, how well you tolerate the flecainide, and how well it works for you. And keep in mind there are several choices of drugs. Flecainide isn't the only antiarrhythmic and many people never take it at all. So there are other options available. I'm surprised by the dosagby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteAoife5 I am taking 200mg of Flecainide which makes me very tired. Are you sure it's the flecainide? Are you taking a beta blocker along with it?by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
I'm sure that happens commonly. People who are asymptomatic get diagnosed incidentally all the time when a doctor happens to do an ECG for other reasons. People have strokes and only learn they have afib after the stroke. That's why I've never understood why current practice guidelines discourage ECGs during routine physicals. Why wouldn't you do one? It's cheap, harmby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Anticoagulants do not cause bleeding. Something else has to cause the bleeding to begin, and then an anticoagulant can prolong the bleeding, but it's not the cause. Could the Eliquis be contributing to the bleeding? Yes, it's possible, but something else is causing it so finding out what that something is would be a more productive thing to do than just stopping the Eliquis. I wouldby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotegloaming I must say, though, and this is from someone who has never used Flecainide for any reason, that the dosage seems high to me. 300 mg per day is the maximum dose* but it's actually not unusual for people to be on that dose. I have. * If you weigh less than 154 lbs/70 kg, the maximum is 200 mg.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteDaisy Interestingly, these days Natale has you take the gout drug Colchicine before and after ablations. That's because it's a very effective anti-inflammatory for the heart. I know that because in one of the rare instances of another EP being ahead of Natale, I received that from my (good) local EP in 2014 and he explained the purpose.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Not to my knowledge. However, gout and afib are strongly correlated, which is why if you google flecainide and gout you'll get a bunch of hits.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Well, assuming your doctor is an EP, then I would go with their advice.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quoteanneh I think I am a 3 - 84y/female/AF but otherwise very healthy Okay, the 1 point for being female doesn't count, so you're a 2. I don't think you have anything to worry about stopping Eliquis for 2 days as long as you're not actively in afib at the time. If you are, I would postpone.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteDaisy The pacemaker fixed the bradycardia aspect but I still occasionally had tachycardia and the ablation fixed that. Right, but the ablation didn't involve the sinus node, right?by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteDaisy I don't believe SSS can be treated with ablation, but it can often be managed medically and/or with a pacemaker. I have sick sinus syndrome and a pacemaker plus a Natale ablation fixed it. As I recall, the ablation didn't really have anything to do with your sinus node. It's the pacemaker that fixed your SSS. Or do I remember incorrectly?by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
He's an electrophysiologist, so he can address virtually any rhythm disturbance, which whatever you have certainly is. If it's a sinus node problem, he'll see it. I don't believe SSS can be treated with ablation, but it can often be managed medically and/or with a pacemaker. An AV node ablation and pacemaker would eliminate all your atrial arrhythmias, but it would leave you pby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
I'm very sorry to hear about your brother. That must have been shocking since the procedure is generally very safe. And yeah, the afib gene seems strong in your family. (Mine too.) I've long been convinced that afib is primarily a genetic disease and the eventual cure will come from that arena, not drugs or procedures.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Unlikely. Sick sinus syndrome usually produces bradycardia, not tachycardia (not always, just usually). You said this rhythm is irregular but you see P waves. Do you have the 6L or the original Kardia? Seeing P waves on the original is often difficult or impossible.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Omeprazole (Prilosec) has a very short half-life, on the order of less than an hour, so it's completely out of your system within about 8 hours. I don't think connecting Prilosec and the PACs makes sense.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
There was a week between going off the Prilosec and all the PACs starting, so what makes you think they're connected?by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
It may or may not. For some people it completely eliminates them, for others it does little, but for most it will at least improve them. I think a lot of people go into ablations not knowing they even have PACs because their PACs always lead immediately to afib, so when they come out of the ablation suddenly they've got PACs that they notice. So it doesn't seem like much of an improvemeby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
A fever increases heart rate. Take something to lower the fever and the HR will fix itself.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM