![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
This will be your third ablation with the same EP? If so, I strongly urge you to go elsewhere and step up the skill level. You are now officially a complex case, and your current EP has proven you are beyond his skills. I would expect the same results again. Read this and don't learn the hard way like I did.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Okay, you're essentially a CHADS zero since the point for being female has been removed from the guidelines as of 2019. That means you don't really need to be on an anticoagulant, but if I were you I would still consider it and still take the aspirin in the meantime. Just take the metoprolol in the morning. You're overthinking it trying to find the optimal timing. It will becomby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
If a Holter monitor detected afib then you've pretty much got your diagnosis. There's not a lot you can do to get a sooner appointment other than asking for them to give you any cancellations that occur. If you go into an ER with a rate of 150, they'll probably just put you on a diltiazem drip and let you lay there for hours in the hope it will revert to normal rhythm on its ownby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Gloaming is right; flutter is SVT. It's just common convention to refer to flutter separately from the other three forms (AT, AVNRT, AVRT) so you won't usually hear atrial flutter (AFL) referred to as SVT in common lingo or even on many web sites that should know better (I see that Mayo omits flutter entirely in their discussion about SVT). But it's not surprising that Zio shows itby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Oh, forgot it's a 3-day weekend! It's great they were so responsive and were able to get you in tomorrow. If nothing else, just slowing down that rate will make you more comfortable.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
That's not super high so it's not an immediate danger but if the amio hasn't converted you by Monday you should call the EP and ask about a rate control drug.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
What is your heart rate now? The afib itself won't do you any harm over six days, but if your rate is over 100 that needs to be brought down.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
There's no hard and fast rule but 4-5 months is long enough. My second ablation occurred 4 months after the first, and I've heard of ablations being done within a week of the previous one.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
A head injury is a very different thing than the massive bleeding people tend to worry about. If you hit your head and then experience symptoms of head injury such as nausea and headache, you probably should stop Eliquis (if you can safely) until you've had it examined. I was addressing the worry that so many people have of "bleeding out."by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Flecainide can lead to a very rare condition referred to as 1-to-1 conduction, often abbreviated as 1:1 conduction. What that means is it can cause your AV node to transmit every beat from your atria down to your ventricles instead of slowing them down as it normally would. If you happen to be in afib or atrial flutter, your atria can be beating at a rate of well over 200, maybe even 300. So if yby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteZoeySusan3464 I’m a little nervous to add a rate control drug to the mix, but I think it’s necessary. You should be nervous about not having metoprolol in the mix. The two are almost always prescribed together, the reason being there's a rare but dangerous side effect of flecainide if it's taken without a rate control drug.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Many people greatly exaggerate the bleed risk of Eliquis and the other DOACs. I listened to a discussion by a trauma surgeon at NYU Medical Center recently. NYU is a level 1 trauma center that handles upwards of 20K trauma patients per year, and he said he has not once used a reversal agent with the DOACs or felt the need to. He said that in the vast majority of cases where the bleeding can'by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotetobherd Tom....wasn't thinking of radiation for an ablation...naive question, but is it? BArb Most ablations use fluoroscopy, which is a continuous x-ray, like an x-ray video as compared to an x-ray photo. If you ask for your ablation report it should document how many minutes of fluoroscopy you received and what the total radiation dose was. It's still minimal enough that it&by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
We don't mind helping out our friend Mellanie over at stopafib.org, but how to join her site isn't really an appropriate question here on the main afib forum. It bumps more important questions off the first page, so I'm moving this to the General Health forum. Daisy has answered your question above.by Carey - GENERAL HEALTH FORUM
It's very common for EPs to prescribe an antiarrhythmic for the first month or two following an ablation. Many don't even wait to see if it's needed because it so commonly is. The lesions they create during the procedure haven't become effective yet at blocking electrical signals, so they can't block afib. As they heal over the coming weeks, they turn to scar tissue and sby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Although it's not unusual to experience arrhythmias following an ablation, you seem to be having more than necessary. Since you've been cardioverted I assume your EP knows about this. Has there been any discussion about adding an antiarrhythmic drug? Rate control drugs aren't going to solve the problem so I'm puzzled why you're on two of them. Talk to your EP about addingby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Salt isn't absorbed through the skin so as long as you're not drinking the softened water it won't matter.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Well, you get the point that their recommendations are shaped by the governments they're dealing with, right? The lifelong aspirin thing, which is unique to the US, is not based on evidence.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
I faced the exact same question you face due to a Watchman, and I went with low-dose Eliquis. It's more effective than aspirin and it has a lower bleed risk. It's the better choice, IMO, if you're only looking for general cardiovascular protection.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
So I guess no one has captured it on any type of ECG device and the docs are writing her off because she's young, healthy and female? If I'm close to being right, buy her a Kardia and have her use it whenever she experiences these episodes. It's FDA approved and will identify afib if it's present, and will record the rhythm no matter what it actually is. It has high credibby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
There are a couple of good electrophysiologists (EPs) in the area, but both their names escape me at the moment. I sent a PM to one of the people who used one of those EPs and asked him to pop in and give you his name. In the meantime, why are doctors not taking her seriously? Are the afib and tachycardia documented by an ECG? Afib is pretty rare in someone of that age, but not unheard of. Moby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Don't know about that particular catheter but there are other contact-force catheters on the market and have been for a while.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
The FDA imposes its own limitations and requirements all the time. They're not limited to strictly what the manufacturer ran trials for, and in fact they often dictate how those trials must be run. Note that Boston Scientific does not recommend lifelong aspirin for the Watchman in Europe. Their recommendations actually leave it up to the doctor. They recommend anticoagulation, dual-antiplateby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
The side effect I was referring to is rare, so no surprise you've never experienced it. But it's potentially lethal, so doctors can't ignore it.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotebettylou4488 My main question is, does flecanide (and other anti-arrythmics) STOP the PACs from turning into afib? And I assume it does/ can help stop afib from even starting.. Pharmacy also switched mfg of my aldactone and that is when this started so pharmacy trying to get the original back... Yes, flecainide prevents afib from starting. That's it's main claim to fame and wby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteCookie24 Carey, Please explain why short-term aspirin is required. When the Watchman is first placed you have a foreign object made of metal and fabric that's in direct contact with the blood flowing in your heart. Blood tends to coagulate on foreign objects and form clots, so you need something to prevent that from happening. Within 6 weeks, the endothelial tissue that lines the innby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Your ablation protects you.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Yes, a cardiac CT will show your lungs. It will show everything in your chest -- heart, lungs, aorta, esophagus, etc. You should ask the lab that does the CT to give you the images. They're pretty cool to look at. No, I did not experience shortness of breath. If you have pulmonary hypertension, that could be the cause of your shortness of breath.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotejasams I don’t think you can suspend all anticoagulants permanently or the company would be pushing for approval of that instead of merely switching the initial 6 weeks from warfarin and aspirin to a dual antiplatelet. It's done in Europe routinely. Where do you get the idea that dual antiplatelet drugs are required? That's true only for the first six months, and only in the offiby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteDaisy So indulge me while I ask a basic question: If you get a Watchman without having your LAA isolated, wouldn't the Watchman itself prevent any errant signals from coming out of the LAA, eliminating the need for it to be isolated through ablation? Nope; a Watchman just sits in the opening of the LAA with tiny wires that extend maybe a millimeter or two into the tissue to hold it inby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM