Just remember that if you find something, it must be conductive. If it's not conductive, it will prevent the monitor from recording or distort the recording.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteGeorgeN I'd love to know the lab as I was unable to find a US lab option when I was searching several years ago. Well, what are the actual requirements? Not the specific test, but the requirements of that test. I find it extremely hard to believe that detecting a metal allergy isn't possible in the US. That just doesn't seem credible at all.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Welcome to the forum. Yes, there's a ton of experience here. Decades worth among many, many people. And what's going on is apparently you have afib. Sorry. The big question is whether it's persistent (never stops) or paroxysmal (comes and goes). Since you've only had two EKGs done I doubt if they know the answer to that question, and it's a very important question. You sby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteNancy M Wow! This Melisa blood test that has to go to Germany and be read within 48 hours seems overwhelming to me. Isn't there some place in the US that does this that is reliable? This process would be very stressful for me. Of course there is.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Suturing the LAA closed means open heart surgery. That's a very big deal and personally I would never expose myself to that kind of risk and lengthy recovery just for an LAA closure. The two minimally invasive devices are the LARIAT and Atriclip. The LARIAT is Teflon coated, but I can't seem to find its actual materials. I'm pretty sure the Atriclip contains metal but havenby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
No, they haven't changed the metal. I have the Watchman FLX, which is the latest model, and it's made of nitinol. I got it from the clinical trials for the FLX in 2018. If they change the device in almost any way, they'll have to run more clinical trials, which are expensive as hell so I wouldn't expect to see a new metal being used anytime soon. Nitinol is very frequently useby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Allergy testing isn't routinely done. It's only done if the patient suspects they may have an allergy. I know that at least one person here who got a Watchman from Natale had a Watchman taped to their chest for a while to test it (about a week, I think). And I'd be careful taking that article at face value. In the Watchman world it's very old now.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
I've got no problem with the post, but I've only watched a few minutes from the time point you gave and I don't see anything indicating that atrial fibrillation caused her death. I'm going to have to go back further to see what he's talking about.by Carey - GENERAL HEALTH FORUM
QuoteNancy M If I need to be on a 1/2 dose of Eliquis after the ablation anyway, or something like it, I may reconsider. It's your choice. In Europe it's long been standard practice not to continue anything, neither aspirin nor an anticoagulant. I'm taking a half-dose of Eliquis, but that's not because of the Watchman. I take it for the same reason many people take a daily lby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Definitely an EP. From what we've seen on this forum, general cardiologists are rarely up to date on the treatment of arrhythmias.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Transesophageal Echocardiogram. Your heart and your left atrium in particular lie right against your esophagus so putting an ultrasound wand down your throat gives them an excellent way of seeing your heart. The typical procedure would they start an IV, give you a light dose of anesthesia (probably propofol) and then slide an ultrasound probe down your throat. It only takes about 15 minutes thenby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
With that kind of rate it's probably flutter or SVT.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotegloaming Although no significant relationship has been found between coffee consumption and premature atrial contractions, which are common early heartbeats, they could be a risk signal for developing a clinically significant heart rhythm disorder called atrial fibrillation. Therefore, coffee consumption could be problematic for those who suffer from annoying PVC-related palpitations or whoby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteNancy M I've read that baby aspirin is no longer recommended. I don't know anything about Plavix or how it differs from Eliquis. My cardiologist did mention something about my having to take Plavix after having a watchman done, but I haven't even received a call from the EP yet for an appointment, so don't know what he would say. Aspirin is no longer recommended for aby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotehds It's so good to hear you can excercise well. I'm 6 weeks into Afib and very scared to do any exercise until this has stabilized. I'm looking forward to do my daily 5Ks again. There's no reason for you to fear all exercise. If exertion triggers your afib that's a good reason to tone it down, but stopping exercise entirely isn't necessary or healthy. No oneby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
I was taking fish oil when I was under his care. Neither he nor two other EPs cared one bit that I was taking it with Eliquis. Yes, it's perfectly fine in normal doses. Drugs.com is a trustworthy source.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
I've been on it twice. As George said, it's very mild and comes with few side effects. Its only drawback is that sometimes it's too mild and won't hold your afib at bay. But if it works for you that's great and you will be fortunate.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
You're over-analyzing this. Natale's advice would apply to both. The omega-3 supplements in normal doses just don't have enough of a bleeding enhancement risk to matter much. That's why drugs.com and the other site you checked give it a "moderate" rating. They're just trying to tell you to check with your doc because there are people out there who will take outrby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotesldabrowski He is running about 10% burden. On multiple meds to try and control. The episodes are also trigger AFIB So, he has afib and he's thinking that stopping the ectopics will fix the afib? Sorry to say it won't. He's kind of thinking backwards. Fix the afib and the ectopics will disappear, improve, or at least stop provoking afib. Just fix the ectopics and he'llby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Eliquis doesn't interact with any form of vitamin K. None of the DOACs do. Drugs.com's interaction checker is pretty accurate. I wouldn't doubt the results it gives.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
An EP who treats only afib would actually be a bit unusual. Some EPs specialize in the supraventricular arrhythmias, and some specialize in ventricular arrhythmias, but their training covers both. There about a dozen types of arrhythmias. Why does he need an EP who treats them all?by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Incidentally, if you're looking for an EP with the most Watchman experience, that would be Rodney Horton at Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute. He works with Natale and in fact trained Natale on the Watchman. When Natale did mine in 2018, Natale had done a couple of hundred and Horton had done over 4000. Although Natale was listed as the operator in my report, Horton was also present. I donby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotegloaming So, to tie it all up pretty, metoprolol in a moderately high(er) dose over an hour or so might get your heart back into the 60-80 beats range suddenly. Worked for me. Count yourself lucky. Flutter can be resistant to rate control. Mine was. No amount of metoprolol would reduce it by a single BPM.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Flecainide would probably be the first choice. Although it was never able to stop my flutter, it was good at preventing it.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteJohnnyk80 I'm curious as to the need for CT angiogram prior to ablation to review the pulmonary veins. I have an EP that I'm considering and they require it before all ablations. I know of another EP that says he doesn't need it. I don't want the copious amounts of radiation as I have leukemia in my family. Should I push back on the EP asking of there is another way arounby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Why do you need to wean off? Just stop it and then start low-dose aspirin if you want. There's no need to wean off anticoagulants. The safest and most effective option would be to switch to half-dose Xarelto or Eliquis instead of aspirin. That's what I did. DOACs such as Xarelto and Eliquis are safer and more effective than aspirin. Really. Aspirin isn't the safe drug most peoplby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteNancy M I took the CHAD test and my score would be 2 due to the fact that I am 73 and I would most likely be considered to have vascular disease as I had varicose veins, which were ablated back in 2015. Interesting that there is no point added for having had afib and an ablation for that, unless I'm not reading the test correctly. I don't believe varicose veins are counted asby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Shannon and I attended in 2019 and had plans to attend in subsequent years, but COVID put a hold on those plans.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
The DOACs Eliquis and Xarelto come with few or no side effects for most people. Not everyone but most. Pradaxa can cause GI upset with some people but otherwise doesn't come with many side effects. I've not encountered anyone taking the other two DOACs whose names I can't recall offhand so I don't know about those. The one with maximum side effects is warfarin, and unless youby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteLoisA I’m not sure if paroxysmal can develop into persistent Afib, but I’m trying to be proactive if it can progress . Without question it can. I don't know what impact a successful ablation for paroxysmal afib has on the progression, but my suspicion is that it at least delays progression. I don't know if it prevents it. To my knowledge no one's ever done a study on that quby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM