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Here is a good diagram of what ablation lines look like. See how if one of those burns was a little too far from the one next to it there would be a gap?by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotesusan.d Then how can atypical flutter be fixed if the gap(s) are encapsulated in scar tissue? By gap I mean a gap in the scar itself. An ablation line should be a row of burns with each burn slightly overlapping its neighbor burns so it forms a solid line of scar tissue. But if two burns are accidentally spaced too far apart, they don't overlap and a gap is created. That gap is livingby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Any ablation can create flutter. Flutter is created when an electrical barrier in the atria has a gap in it. The barrier can be scar tissue from a prior ablation, fibrosis that developed naturally due to atrial myopathy, or scar tissue caused by something else (prior infection, etc). The gap allows a normal signal to go through the barrier, and if that signal goes all the way around the atrium anby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Yes, it can be ablated again. The ablation creates a barrier around the LAA, not in it.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
I've started sotalol 2-3 times and never in the hospital. Most people I know who've been on sotalol did not start it in the hospital. I think that's generally reserved for people with more risk factors for prolonged QT. Women have longer QTs than men, so being female means you're more likely to be required to start it in a hospital.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteMabmedz So unfortunately it appears the 2nd ablation was unsuccessful, but we’ll have to wait and see how I do on Multaq. As of yesterday I discontinued Amiodarone and started Multaq. I’ve discussed a 3rd ablation with my EP with a risk of requiring a pacemaker, something he is trying to avoid, if possible. Okay, lots of important information that explains your course of treatment. I wasby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotesusan.d Does Amio need to be weaned off or can one stop cold turkey? I had to be weaned off Multaq and Jackie had to wean off of Flecainide. For all the antiarrhythmics, including amio, most people can just stop them. I've stopped flecainide, sotalol, Tikosyn, and Multaq without weaning, also metoprolol.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotesusan.d Carey, you are a CHAD 2, what advice for a CHAD 4-5-6? Would a half dose Eliquis be enough and would temporarily stopping Eliquis and avoid bridging (advantage of the watchman) during surgery be safe after a successful watchman when compared to someone with a CHAD2? Well, it's probably going to depend on why the person is a CHADS 4-6 and what other issues they have. For eby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotesusan.d I am saving Carey from retyping :-) Thank you!by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotetobherd I think I have to stop Googling the Watchman, as I read about the many possible side effects or things that could go wrong...and the author of the article I saw saying it was heavily marketed was David Becker, a cardiologist. Is that who you were thinking of, Carey? Google any invasive procedure you can think of -- even dental procedures -- and you'll find scary stuff. So it&by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotetobherd I still am not clear as to why anything more is needed, as I had successful ablations and no longer have Afib. It's been over 7 years and all is well. Why am I still at risk for a stroke? Because you don't have an LAA that pumps adequately. Once your LAA was isolated, it no longer pumps normally and consequently blood can stagnate in it and form clots. Without constanby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Poppino's options are fairly limited until he does his 6-month TEE. He has to assume he can't skip even a single dose of anticoagulant until then. He can change between them (which he's already tried) but he can't stop them.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotesusan.d Both Tom and I are getting the watchman with Dr Natale. The difference is his will be in Austin and he will get the TEE the day before while mine will be in CA and the TEE will be done during/just before the watchman implant. I can’t speculate why the TEE schedule of the day before vs during the procedure differs… There's no medical reason. That's just a scheduling thing.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
It's really unlikely that an irritated vagus nerve is still irritated 4 years later. Nerves heal slowly, but damage severe enough to take 4 years to heal would have had immediately obvious symptoms at the time. I think you're barking up the wrong tree on that one. There are several antiarrhythmic drugs, and only two of them have any serious toxicity concerns (amiodarone and digoxin)by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuotePoppino The other strange part- i took it march thru aug nothing! Then it started in sept and has gotten worse See, that's what makes me really doubt the cause is Eliquis. Drugs don't usually lack side effects and then suddenly develop them. I think you should investigate other possible causes. Since the pain seems to center around musculoskeletal issues, and you're fairlby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Oh, okay, I misunderstood and got your procedure dates mixed up. You don't even have the Watchman yet. Yes, 45 days after your Watchman they want a TEE to confirm placement and absence of leaks. I doubt Austin will object to you doing that TEE with your local EP if he has experience evaluating Watchman implants. The TEE it's rather critical that you fly to Austin for is the one inby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuotePoppino I will be asking if i can have the 45 day TEE with my EP in Charlotte. Huh? 45 days was in mid-September, almost 3 months ago. The TEE they're doing in February is your 6-month TEE to verify there are no clots present and size your LAA.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteMabmedz So my question is why is there so much negative talk about Amiodarone. Because of lung, liver, and thyroid toxicity. Amiodarone can have devastating side effects, some of which can leave you with permanent lung and liver damage. And yes, thyroid problems too, but that's not going to kill you like the liver and lung toxicity can. Pompon is right: you feel okay so far. Amio isby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Feel your pulse for 30 seconds. Is it an irregularly irregular rhythm? By that I mean there's no pattern or predictability to the pulse at all. If so, it's almost certainly afib. Easier solution: Buy a Kardia. You don't need the more expensive 6L and you don't need to sign up for their plan. You can get one for $69 on Amazon.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
I don't think I really noticed that first mention at the time. Okay, so there are two people who've experienced pain they believe was a side effect of an anticoagulant. Drugs.com listed pain as a common complaint, but only two people on this and other forums I've followed sure doesn't make it sound common. Poppino has an isolated LAA so trying nattokinase would be very riskby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
It should be okay. It's an antihistamine plus acetaminophen, not a decongestant, and decongestants are the ones to avoid with afib.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
I was given the option of aspirin, 1/2 dose Eliquis, or take nothing. The "official" FDA protocol is aspirin for life, but to my knowledge there's no good data supporting that. And in Europe the practice has been to take nothing, so what is the FDA basing it on? It seems to be more a "we need to do something" line of thinking. After consulting with Natale, my PCP, anby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
No, it is not. You can't compare Apple Watch recordings to ECG recordings you find online. They aren't the same thing.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteElizabeth I believe that AF is in our DNA, my mother had AF and i think my grandmother had it as well. I completely agree with you that afib is probably an inherited disease. It's probably a prerequisite that you have the genes in the first place to ever develop afib. But having the genes probably doesn't guarantee afib. It's just a prerequisite But if you do have that geneby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Without question obesity is an afib risk factor. That's been demonstrated in many studies. No, that doesn't mean if you're obese you're going to get afib, but it does mean if 100 people are obese and 100 others aren't, more of the obese people will have afib than those who aren't obese.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotehiker Thank you carey. I hope that's right if so that would my first bout of afib in almost a year. I would post the kardia strip if I knew how The Kardia will give you a PDF of the recording. Take that and post it to any of the free file sharing services such as Google Drive, then post a link to it here. Or you can email it to me. Check your private messages for my email address.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotehiker He said it was afib. It don't look like anything I'd before. Hope he's right. Thanks again. It would be virtually impossible for an MD to misidentify v-tach as afib (or anything else, really).by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
What was the response? I'm hoping (and betting) the reviewer said it wasn't v-tach.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Almost everyone who's had an ablation has experienced bouts of afib, atrial flutter, and/or assorted ectopic beats in the following weeks. It's perfectly normal and to be expected. The amiodarone will almost certainly bring it under control soon, but don't let them leave you on that for months. It's okay for short-term control during the blanking period following an ablation,by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
I'm always leery of side effect lists because they rarely get filtered for common sense. For example, one of the listed side effects of Eliquis is afib. That's ridiculous, of course. Eliquis gets prescribed to people because they already have afib. But that's how side effect data is collected. If a patient in one of the clinical trials reported a side effect, that side effect getsby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM