blood thinners

Hello all,
I am happy to have found such an informative forum and appreciate any input. Early last month, I underwent a cryo ablation after experiencing occasional short afib episodes for two years. Multaq was effective for most of the one year that I took it. I had the ablation when that drug started losing effectiveness. So far, I am afib free and am happy with having undergone the procedure. I am a 65 year old male, in otherwise good health, and have a chads-vasc score of 1, due to my age. After taking xarelto for 6 weeks, on a follow up visit, my doc wanted to stop that drug and put me on aspirin. Due to gastric problems from previous aspirin use I didn't want to do that so he recommended that I stay on xarelto or another blood thinner. Here's what I don't understand. It seems that most recent studies say aspirin use by people with afib has little or no benefit. If I stay afib free I don't see why at this stage I should be on any blood thinner. Thanks in advance for any advice...

Can't give advise.
I'm 67 and had permanent afib for about 4 months two years ago. The cardiologist i saw would say that your score is a bit more than 1 because of your afib.
However, after questioning him about blood thinners which he prescribed and i stopped taking at the beginning of this month, he said that with my score the risk of a clot or bleeding were about even. It's up to me what i want to do but once i reach 70 i should take an anti coagulant.
I take nutto (40g) 1/day and 1/4 clove of raw garlic and hope for the best.
As far as clots forming in the LAA it's interesting to read the article in the Resource section: 'Left Atrial Appendage: Useless or Priceless?'

Hi Joe,

While the article in our ‘AFIB Resources’ section has some valuable insights, it is now in need of revision as there has been an explosion of knowledge and understanding of the LAA and its role in arrhythmogenesis and in both stroke and bleeding risk since the article was written by Hans Larsen ... and which I plan to do along with 101 other such updates once I figure out how to clone myself :-))!

Cheers!
Shannon



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/25/2017 01:28AM by Shannon.

Looking forward to learning what has changed! As it is, that article makes sense to me.
Thank you Shannon for the info!