Everything that article cites is years old and no longer accurate. And citing Mandrola first does nothing to enhance his credibility. No one considering a Watchman should use this article as guidance.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Keep in mind that paper was published in 2017 and it covers data collected in the previous 10 years, so it's looking at results obtained in the early days of AF ablation. There have been enormous strides in technique, understanding, and technology since then. If we had a study that began collecting data in 2012 (10 years ago), I'm confident we'd see significantly better results.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteGeorgeN If your afib only lasts a couple of hours, PIP flec is unlikely to shorten it by much. That's a good point.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
I would wait and talk to the cardiologist. You're on a pretty low dose now, so you've got plenty of room to go up. The max dose is 300 mg/day if you weigh over 70 kg (154 lbs) or 200 mg otherwise. If you want to try using it as a PIP, the usual dose is the daily maximum taken all at once, preferably by chewing the tablets and washing them down with a glass of room temp water. By theby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
What you're feeling are probably PACs, and the first thing you need to know about them is they're harmless. They may feel distressing, but they are not dangerous and pose no threat to you. They could be PVCs, but having had afib and an ablation, PACs are more likely. Either way, they don't represent any sort of damage to your heart. And although it may not seem this way now, theyby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
There's no way for anyone here to guess what the cause is, but pulmonary vein stenosis is unlikely. If you've been on Tikosyn since the ablation and you're still experiencing afib, then clearly your ablation was not successful. Have you had a conversation about this with the EP who did the ablation? Have you described your symptoms to them? If not then you need to have that conversby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
You haven't told us enough about yourself for for us to offer much help. All I can gather from your posts is you have afib, a cardioversion has been suggested, but apparently there's some debate about that for unknown reasons. How old are you? Are you male or female? What's your afib history? What drugs are you taking? Have you had any procedures such as ablations? We're noby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Your pulse getting into the 80s and 90s due to daily events is absolutely nothing to be concerned about. It's perfectly normal and we all do that. And don't think that things like whitecoat hypertension are due to you being afraid of doctors. My wife has a perfectly normal BP that's typically 110/70-ish no matter when she measures it. But at the doctor's office she'sby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteMadeline I did not know ARBs & ACEIs would not control heart rate - is that primarily pulse or BP or both? Heart rate means pulse; the two are synonymous. BP is an entirely different thing that has nothing to do with heart rate. Both ARBs and ACEIs are commonly used to control BP. I currently take an ARB for BP, but I've taken ACEIs in the past for the same reason. But neitherby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
This would probably be an easy choice without the essential tremor. Diltiazem will control your heart rate and it has no effects on the lungs, but it probably won't do anything for the tremor. Diltiazem is a calcium channel blocker, and there's another CCB that does control tremor (nifedipine), but one of its side effects is tachycardia so that's a no go. The other drugs that are uby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Sunshine, I hope you don't mind but I merged your two threads together into a single thread since they're duplicates of each other. Duplicate threads will push other topics off the front page, so we like to avoid that.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotesisyphus222 That's good to know, unfortunately for me caffeine was absolutely a trigger. It may be that caffeine brought on PAC's which in turn would spark my flutter/afib episodes. All i know is that for 20+ years i cut out the caffeine and i didn't have a single flutter or afib event in that time. Take my experience as just a helpful anecdote. I wish i understood why my Pby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
I've never used an Apple Watch but I've used a Kardia since 2015 and I doubt they're all the much different in how they interpret the things they see. A Kardia will tend to label any rhythm that's irregular as possible afib (the language is similar for both Apple and Kardia). It's just saying it's seeing abnormal beats but it's not seeing sustained afib. I tby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotesusan.d I’m not an unusual patient. You're extraordinarily unusual. You know that, Susan. You've said it yourself. But whatever the case, I promise you that most ERs are going to be very reluctant to cardiovert a stable patient with a normal heart rate. It's not a life threatening condition and it's a time consuming procedure requiring a lot of staff. It's justby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotesusan.d Maybe true at your ER but I had 51 ECVs at five Californian ERs and I never had a problem getting one even if my hr was <85…sometimes they ecv me at 67-70. I think it depends if one pushes hard enough in requesting an ecv. It's not California vs. Connecticut ERs; it's you. You're an unusual patient with an unusual medical history, so they're more likely to acby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotebettylou4488 So question.. on the CV post ablation. I understand the blanking period... I am having a hard time understand when folks do a CV post ablation. Some I have read they won't touch it for months. Others they do. I get the rate thing- if too high they want to do "something". But I though the whole blanking period was for the heart to work out the kinks.. heal theby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Being 3 hours late is no crisis, and you don't need to try to fix it on the next dose. Just take the next dose when due. The fact that you've been on it consistently for months with only two late doses won't lead them to withhold the cardioversion. With a rate of 72 I wouldn't worry much about the flutter, but I also wouldn't just let it go for weeks. I think your locby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
20 PACs daily really isn't anything to worry about, but 20 PACs a day doesn't create a heart rate of 130 either. Well, maybe it does for a few seconds when it's being displayed by a monitor showing real-time results, but it wouldn't produce a rate that high over a 30-second sampling period, and that's what counts. Arrhythmias lasting less than 30 seconds generally arenby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
When you experience these episodes where you say your heart rate climbs to 130, have you felt your pulse? Is it a regular rhythm or just kind of all over the place with no rhythm at all? Did you experience one of those episodes while wearing the monitor? I agree with George that it's probably not afib, but you should get a Kardia so you can see what it is. Once you record a strip you canby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Is your cardiologist also an electrophysiologist (EP)? If not, you need to find one and get a second opinion. What your cardio should have done was have you wear a monitor for a week. What you've described could be afib or it couple be a couple of other things (not likely anything dangerous). A monitor would answer that question. It's just an adhesive patch you stick on your chest, so nby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
If you have a card there's no reason not to carry it. That's not what I've been saying at all. I've just been saying it's not really all that important in the real world and I doubt anyone will ever ask to see it. If there's any importance to it, it's now during your first 45 days. After that, not so much. I think you're fine taking an Advil now and thenby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotesusan.d I wish I got $10 ($1 inflation) for each time any doctor in the er insisted to see my pacemaker card to confirm the model and serial number when talking to Metronics. Maybe watchman cards are not as important. The two aren't even vaguely comparable. Pacemakers are complex computers with batteries, wires, programming, and dozens of very different models, so a doctor dealing witby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
I don't think you're making it up, but the information provided by the manufacturer is always ultra-conservative and assumes all the worst cases. It's written by lawyers, not doctors. Many of their warnings are akin to the warnings you see on coffee cups about the coffee being hot. Carrying the card is fine if you want to, but I can't imagine who'll ever look at it. Liby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotetobherd First of all, I didn't know some of the things about the Watchman that I am now finding out - after I had it implanted. No one told me I have to carry a card and let everyone know I have this device in me....that there are some MRI's I can't have...and I may have to take an antibiotic for dental work, etc. Had no idea. .I wish I had some more education on this beforeby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quoteadamh I meant fine in the sense they don't know what happened. It is not the normal culprits like obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease etc etc.. They cant point to anything other than it possibly being my caffeine abuse over the past decade. I understood what you meant, but my entire point was that none of the things you mention as the "normal culprits" are actually kby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
There is research out there showing that caffeine is actually beneficial for afib. I've posted links to it before but don't have them handy right now. If anyone wants to see them let me know and I'll dig them up again. I think caffeine is the biggest false bogeyman of the cardiology world. It was demonized by cardiologists decades ago purely out of a sense of "it's aby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Yes, I understood what you meant by everything being fine. Many of us here had the same evaluations when first diagnosed. I was just trying to underline the subtle point that what's not fine is something that can't be measured at this time. So you can search for explanations all day long, but you're not going to find one in any report you received from a doctor. It's likely yoby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Actually, your heart is not just fine. You have atrial myopathy, as proven by the afib. The problem is, doctors don't (yet) know how to detect and measure atrial myopathy. All they can do is wait until the first symptom appears, which is often afib but can also be atrial flutter and/or frequent PACs. I'm confident that some sort of diagnostic method will be developed in the not-too-by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteDavid_L The standard of care seems to have changed in the last 3 1/2 years. Indeed it has. Ablation has become recognized as a recommended first line treatment. Previously, ablation was considered appropriate only for patients who had failed medical management with at least one AAD and/or rate control drug.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotetobherd Yes, glad it's over and now to get the OK that all is fine with the TEE. Why would they want anyone to continue on Eliquis or aspirin after getting the Watchman? I would assume we would have the same stroke risk after getting it as any other person who never had Afib to begin with, no? . No blood thinners needed before Afib. Successful Ablation, then Watchman should = no bby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM