Atrial Fibrillation Forum - AFIBBERS FORUM A forum for sharing experiences regarding atrial fibrillation and other atrial tachy-arrhythmias. https://www.afibbers.org/forum/list.php?9 Mon, 28 Sep 2026 22:44:16 +0000 Phorum 5.2.23 https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201944,201944#msg-201944 Smoked Food & AF ??? (3 replies) https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201944,201944#msg-201944 I am also looking at a Freeze Dryer. Any AF issues eating freeze dried food ?
3K to 4K for 1 year supply going price out there. 3K for a freeze dryer.]]> Todd AFIBBERS FORUM Fri, 25 Sep 2026 18:29:06 +0000 https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201939,201939#msg-201939 Metoprolol vs Multaq (2 replies) https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201939,201939#msg-201939
So now maybe a second ablation - but that might include a watchmen.

QUESTION: I was recommended to stop metoprolol (25mg x2) and switch to Multaq 500mg x2.

What is the experience of folks here? Which is better to prevent afib/flutter? Metoprolol or Multaq?
I don't have a bad reaction to either. I was good for 2.5 yrs with metoprolol.

Thanks for any words of wisdom

-Sven]]> swhanson AFIBBERS FORUM Mon, 21 Sep 2026 20:51:37 +0000 https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201938,201938#msg-201938 Anticoagulation in AF and One Stroke Risk Factor: A Choice, Not a Prescription (no replies) https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201938,201938#msg-201938
[www.medscape.com]]]> sldabrowski AFIBBERS FORUM Mon, 21 Sep 2026 13:06:38 +0000 https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201937,201937#msg-201937 NOACs Linked to Slower Cognitive Decline in Comorbid AF and Alzheimer’s Disease (no replies) https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201937,201937#msg-201937
[www.medscape.com]]]> sldabrowski AFIBBERS FORUM Mon, 21 Sep 2026 12:53:47 +0000 https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201929,201929#msg-201929 Early AF diagnosis via eye examination (2 replies) https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201929,201929#msg-201929 [www.news-medical.net]]]> Joe AFIBBERS FORUM Sun, 20 Sep 2026 01:05:23 +0000 https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201919,201919#msg-201919 Colonoscopy. .. ablation 3 weeks later. blood thinner questions (10 replies) https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201919,201919#msg-201919
So my questions
1) thoughts on the timing for the eliquis hold 
2) thoughts on the whole may be in afib of may have been in afib? before the hold and self converted.

Thanks I have a pretty extensive cardiac history. I will be talking to my adult congenital doc tomorrow and EP NP on Monday. But wanted opinions here or questions to ask them]]> bettylou4488 AFIBBERS FORUM Sun, 20 Sep 2026 12:12:01 +0000 https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201914,201914#msg-201914 Nightmare Experience (5 replies) https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201914,201914#msg-201914
I reported it to the state police because I was so afraid I had caused problems. Anything I shoukd be doing since my pcp didn’t have anything further to add. Thank you if you got this far]]> Erin AFIBBERS FORUM Fri, 18 Sep 2026 18:34:41 +0000 https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201913,201913#msg-201913 AFib in Endurance Athletes: New Heart Science + Strength Training Best Practices (1 reply) https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201913,201913#msg-201913
[www.youtube.com]]]> AJR3 AFIBBERS FORUM Thu, 17 Sep 2026 22:08:08 +0000 https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201902,201902#msg-201902 Back on Flecainide? (7 replies) https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201902,201902#msg-201902
It's been a little over 5 months since my ablation and I have been off of Flecainide for about 2 weeks but I have noticed a dramatic increase in ectopic beats again. Has this happened to any of you? Instead of stopping Flecainide abruptly, which they said i could do, I decided to taper off of it instead for 4 weeks before finally stopping it altogether 2 weeks ago. My cardiologist said I could start back on it and suggested cutting the 150mg dose in half since I had mentioned I had plenty 150mg tablets leftover. I was really hoping to be done with Flecainide for a while at least.
What I don't like is, is I get more ectopic beats during exercise so we'll see what my cardiologist wants to do.

Eric]]> EricY AFIBBERS FORUM Mon, 21 Sep 2026 12:52:33 +0000 https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201893,201893#msg-201893 AF ablation relationship to Pulmonary Hypertension tradeoff experience (5 replies) https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201893,201893#msg-201893
After a recent routine ECHO, my Cardiologist told me I had mild PH. Since I have no symptoms, I was surprised. That started a cascade of testing to determine why and level. I won't go into detail about all the tests. After consulting a top specialist in Interventional Cardiology and Pulmonologist at the Pulmonary Hypertension center (I finally consented to a RH/LH cath) it was determined that the mild PH is a result of the multiple ablations and scarring. My pulmonary functions were normal, heart function normal, no stenosis etc; I walk about 3 miles a day and strength training once a week. If it was significant issue, I could not do what I do, was the feedback.

The cardiologist who did the testing told me, for some, having ablations that keep you in rhythm and improve QOL can be a tradeoff for asymptomatic PH. Which would you rather have had? - a lifetime of AFIB or a mild case of PH with no symptoms if the AFIB ablations were not performed. No further medical intervention required at this time, other than keeping an eye on it.

For me, my decisions over all these years is a no brainer. Still a mystery why so young having this. The EP I last saw told me you will drive yourself crazy trying to determine why, you made it this far - a testament to your advocacy and care.

My two cents.]]> sldabrowski AFIBBERS FORUM Tue, 15 Sep 2026 17:03:09 +0000 https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201891,201891#msg-201891 Does AF Ablations work? Outcome of Sham PVI study (2 replies) https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201891,201891#msg-201891

[www.medscape.com]]]> sldabrowski AFIBBERS FORUM Sun, 13 Sep 2026 16:59:00 +0000 https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201889,201889#msg-201889 Multaq-taper? (6 replies) https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201889,201889#msg-201889 bettylou4488 AFIBBERS FORUM Tue, 15 Sep 2026 02:43:49 +0000 https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201884,201884#msg-201884 trigger finding (3 replies) https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201884,201884#msg-201884 stahoo AFIBBERS FORUM Tue, 08 Sep 2026 03:04:00 +0000 https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201859,201859#msg-201859 Strenuous exercise after PFA (9 replies) https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201859,201859#msg-201859 P K AFIBBERS FORUM Fri, 04 Sep 2026 12:38:58 +0000 https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201858,201858#msg-201858 Interatrial septum healimg (2 replies) https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201858,201858#msg-201858 P K AFIBBERS FORUM Wed, 02 Sep 2026 23:42:03 +0000 https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201852,201852#msg-201852 Starting new thread on Isolating LAA topic (12 replies) https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201852,201852#msg-201852
Anyway, we were discussing how Dr. Natale seems to have established a treatment pattern where he isolates the LAA more often than other EPs. (I think primarily for those with persistent A-fib.) Then he follows up with a Watchman implant.

And, indeed that is what he did for me. And it brings up the discussion of how an isolated LAA may mean never getting off Eliquis, even with the Watchman.

So someone mentioned that he is aware of elite EPs who are more reluctant to isolate the LAA; and can achieve NSR without doing so.

I typed all this background to lead up to this: According to the procedural notes from my ablation, Dr. Natale treated several areas of my heart before isolating the LAA. So aren't these the areas the other EPs would be treating? Natale only isolated my LAA when I remained in A-fib after he ablated the "safer" areas. Once he isolated my LAA, I converted to NSR.

So that would make it appear Natale did no more than he had to. Unless he would have stopped short of isolating the LAA, and left me in A-fib.]]> nonthumper AFIBBERS FORUM Sun, 06 Sep 2026 18:29:10 +0000 https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201849,201849#msg-201849 29 yo soccer star to under go PFA (2 replies) https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201849,201849#msg-201849 www.nytimes.com]

One article I read said he will resume play in about 6 weeks - wow.]]> AJR3 AFIBBERS FORUM Tue, 01 Sep 2026 20:26:05 +0000 https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201839,201839#msg-201839 Whats Working For Me (7 replies) https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201839,201839#msg-201839
Hi everyone. I want to tell you how I got rid of my AFib within an hour. I’ll describe all of my reasoning and how I arrived at this conclusion, because it may make it easier for you to reproduce the experiment yourself. In my case, and my case seems similar to many of yours, the answer was not diet but what may have been mechanical compression of a nerve in the lumbar/pelvic region. I suspect many people here have some kind of back problem. My case was similar because I had persistent AFib, which I had been associating, like many people here, with diet, potassium, magnesium, calcium, absorption, and vagal mechanisms.

My attacks started in 2016 and gradually became worse until now. There were periods of improvement, but over the last six months I reached almost daily bigeminy. It is frightening when bigeminy turns into AFib, to the point where I actually started feeling relieved when AFib began. I had constant PVCs, especially during sleep, and my tracker had stopped recording my sleep properly a long time ago. During the last two months I had not seen my resting heart rate below 85 (when I was healthy and running, it was around 65), and during sleep it never went below 67 (only two years ago it could be 47). AFib kept my heart rate around 100–107, with spikes to 130 when I stood up.

I stopped going to doctors a long time ago. Ablation is not an option for me: I am in another country, I have no insurance, and I cannot afford the procedure. So I have been researching everything I can read about myself. My only post here was about a tooth that had been removed. Like many people here, I found a false correlation. After that post, my condition started deteriorating even faster. Despite sleeping longer (8–10 hours instead of 4–6 previously), my AFib became more frequent. I stopped the episodes with PIP — Propanorm. A 300 mg tablet used to be enough for 6–8 hours. Recently, however, the tablet stopped working in the evening and only worked in the morning. In other words, if I took the tablet at 7–10 PM, the AFib would not terminate until around 5 AM, even though it normally took about two hours. I keep a diary of every tablet I take and my symptoms, so retrospectively I can see what was happening and what I was doing. During the day the AFib would return. At first there were occasional PVCs (I don’t know exactly what to call them — a strong beat followed by a pause), but recently they started turning into constant bigeminy and then AFib would often follow. So I was sleeping in an episode for months and suppressing it with PIP in the morning.

What I discovered yesterday

Yesterday I noticed something very strange: when I stood up, I could delay the onset of the episode. I initially thought this was simply because I had become very sedentary at 91 kg. I am 47 and have an athletic build underneath some extra fat, but I have been sitting or lying down almost all day for years. As usual, my abdomen started feeling tense below the solar plexus. This was after taking PIP at 9 AM, at around 3 PM — approximately when I expected the second cycle to begin. Normally the episode would start around then. But this time I decided to remain standing while eating. The episode did not start. In fact, the PVC sensations almost disappeared. I walked around the house for approximately an hour. No AFib. Then I sat down. The PVCs became more frequent.

Because I spend most of my day reading papers while sitting or lying down, I had never really noticed this relationship. So I started searching with ChatGPT for similar cases on Reddit, where people tend to describe their symptoms in detail. There are actually many posts describing something similar if you search for the right terms:

postural_pvc_cure
pvcs_posture
anyone_else_get_pvc_when_changing_postures_sitting
pvcs_when_sittinglying

But I don't think this is Nutcracker syndrome. This post describes the opposite of what I experience:

questions_re_pelvic

In my case, the PVCs appear when I sit or lie down, whereas in that case they apparently occur while standing. These two posts were particularly interesting:

my_pvcs_have_stopped_since_i_improved_my_posture
whats_working_for_me

Then I remembered my back problem

I remembered that I actually have a longstanding problem with my back. When I lie on my back with my legs extended, the skin on the outer surface of my left thigh starts becoming numb. On the right side, I have had a small palm-sized area of skin that has essentially no sensation when lightly touched since childhood. However, the muscles underneath still feel pressure normally. The left side becomes numb symmetrically to the insensitive area on the right. I only noticed this recently, usually before falling asleep while lying on my back. I had never connected it to anything because it never bothered me. If I bend my leg at the knee while lying down, the numbness disappears.

At one point in Thailand I had an X-ray, and the doctor told me that I had an old compression fracture in my lumbar spine. As far as I understood her English, it was probably from childhood — perhaps from kindergarten — and had never been diagnosed because it was asymptomatic. I started looking into this, and ChatGPT and I found that the symptoms resemble meralgia paresthetica. Here is an article with a good illustration of the anatomy and the possible relationship to the lumbar/pelvic region:

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

There are other symptoms as well. Recently I can no longer lie on my stomach with my computer in front of me while supporting myself on my elbows for more than about half an hour. Otherwise my lower back eventually locks up, and I have to get up extremely slowly, moving my whole body, before I can stand. But interestingly, lying on my stomach used to have a very different effect. In 2020 I could sleep on my stomach and not develop AFib during the night. In fact, this stopped my attacks for about a month when nothing else was working. Sleeping on my stomach continued to work until around 2024, when my AFib shifted from starting at the beginning of sleep to starting in the morning. It would often begin when I got up at 4 AM to use the bathroom, or around 9 AM when I bent forward to take something out of the refrigerator. About a year ago I stopped running. Running started triggering AFib after about ten minutes, with my heart rate reaching 180, which frightened me. Thailand is hot, so I eventually stopped even walking because the problem was progressing and I was afraid of making things worse. Recently I tried exercising while in AFib, walking up to the 10th floor and back despite the episode, but it did not change anything and I stopped. Basically, since 2022 I have mostly been lying down, sitting on my bed, reading, and going to the stores. I stopped functioning normally.

What I did yesterday

After remembering all of this, I tried the first exercise from this article:

exercises

Cat-Cow Pose. But I went a little further. I remembered that once at the gym I was hanging from a pull-up bar and started rotating my pelvis sharply from side to side. My lower back locked up so badly that I could barely walk for a week. Yesterday I reproduced essentially the same movement, but very slowly and from the cat position. I put one arm underneath the other and, while on all fours, rotated my body as if lying down on one side, then the other, several times. I heard a small click. The idea was simply to slowly move the spine and see whether some possible compression would reveal itself. Interestingly, I experienced no problems. Then for approximately an hour I alternated between Cat Pose and Cobra Pose while reading articles.

I had done something vaguely similar back in 2022. It was an exercise from Stanley Rosenberg's book about the vagus nerve, which he called the “salamander.” At the time it also seemed to help, but I was always doing many things simultaneously, so I assumed the improvement was related to drinking a lot of water, vitamin D, and running.

The result

After approximately one hour of these exercises, my PVCs disappeared. That night the left thigh did not become numb while I was lying on my back. The AFib did not return. As a precaution, I put two pillows on either side of me and rested one leg on them, keeping it bent while the other leg was extended. I normally sleep in a similar position, but I wondered whether the vertebrae might shift because the second leg is lower, producing more pelvic rotation. So I made a support for the leg that was bent at the knee. This morning, for the first time in several months, my tracker showed REM/deep sleep and gave me a complete sleep report. During the last few months the tracker had been recording only about one hour of sleep because I was apparently in AFib so much. I am writing this post right now while lying down, and for the first time in six months I have no episode. My minimum heart rate dropped to 51 during the night. Normally it had been 86–106. If I understand the trend correctly, over the next few days it may return to around 47 during sleep. And perhaps I will be able to run again.

Looking back

So let me repeat the main point. My situation looked very similar to what many people here describe. AFib started within the first minutes of falling asleep in 2016. Then I started sleeping on my stomach, and the attacks shifted to the time when I returned to bed at 4 AM after getting up to use the bathroom. Since 2024, if an episode did not start at night, it could also start in the morning, often when I bent forward or sat down. I never had any obvious pain or symptoms from my abdomen or intestines. But I sit at a computer. From 2016 to 2020 I was able to suppress the problem with running. Running on a treadmill for 1.5 hours eventually gave me about four years of remission. I never paid much attention to my back and did very little back exercise at the gym. But because the back participates invisibly in almost everything we do, it is easy to spend years, as I did, investigating false correlations with food and electrolytes. Over these years I tested myself with running, sleeping on my right side, taurine, potassium, magnesium (I drink Weller Water every day), copper, chocolate, omega-3, homemade natto since December because I don't take blood thinners, homemade kombucha, vitamin D and sun exposure in the pool. I tested drinking large amounts of fluid. Urine test strips showed nothing significant. I don't have diabetes — my glucose meter readings are generally 92–100. I had no known cardiac pathology. From 2016 through 2022 I regularly had echocardiograms, Holters and ECGs at a very good hospital. I had an ultrasound of my carotid arteries and an ultrasound of my internal organs. No stones or major abnormalities were found, only a small liver cyst. My T3 and T4 were good. I don't have hemochromatosis. Creatinine was good, although cholesterol was somewhat elevated. I took iodine; laboratory tests were normal. I had mild biliary dyskinesia. I checked folate, had B12 injections and injections of the full B-vitamin complex. I bake homemade whole-grain sourdough bread. My diet is entirely homemade: meat, vegetables, etc. I drink one latte in the morning. I roast my own coffee and chocolate. I tried vagus-nerve exercises involving eye movements. I tried heel drops because I suspected a hiatal hernia. I wore a neck brace while investigating the possibility of kyphosis. My blood pressure is around 120/80. I even tried beta blockers and briefly tried thiamazole because I was investigating the thyroid hypothesis. Basically, I always assumed this was vagal AFib and that I had some kind of electrolyte/nutrient imbalance, like many people here.

My current hypothesis

I am posting this only one day after the improvement because my situation had reached a critical point: bigeminy and constant AFib. But there is another reason. I don't see the spine being seriously considered in any AFib community — neither here nor on Reddit. Maybe someone will read this and try something similar, and we can start collecting data from people with positional AFib/PVCs. I think it is possible that some cases which are attributed to “vagal AFib,” food, electrolytes, or absorption problems may actually have an additional mechanical component involving the lumbar/pelvic region, posture, nerves, or surrounding structures. I am not claiming that I have proven the mechanism. I have only found a remarkably strong temporal and positional correlation in my own case. I don't think medicine will make much money from exercises like these, so people selling ablations have little incentive to investigate the original mechanical causes. I believe patients themselves can contribute to solving this problem by systematically collecting observations. Please post your results here if you try something similar. We need the law of large numbers if we want to distinguish a real effect from coincidence.]]> AndreyS AFIBBERS FORUM Tue, 01 Sep 2026 03:30:24 +0000 https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201829,201829#msg-201829 0 Chads vasc score and cardioversion (7 replies) https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201829,201829#msg-201829 Chevy AFIBBERS FORUM Thu, 03 Sep 2026 17:00:22 +0000 https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201828,201828#msg-201828 new member (1 reply) https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201828,201828#msg-201828 jimmarty AFIBBERS FORUM Thu, 27 Aug 2026 16:41:24 +0000 https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201816,201816#msg-201816 Left Atrium Reverse Remodeling (3 replies) https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201816,201816#msg-201816
I guess it is what it is and either it has reduced or maintained size and hasn't gotten worse with no a fib and PAC's getting fewer each passing month.

I've had 1 Echo since Ablation, back in March and previous one was April the year before and it was basically same size, not smaller not larger. Had first go round with ablation in August then re-do & Watchman in October so didn't expect any remodeling to begin until sometime after last October. And it very well could have gotten larger from last April 2025 until the ablation(s) so it could have remodeled some, I'll never know. Getting slight anxiety worrying about it. They used the words "marked enlargement" here locally and these two new Echo + CTA will be local too. Per Natale's office it should be fine to do locally vs returning for a 4th time to TX. Last time I saw them was last December.

Anyone have successful reverse remodeling after ablation(s)? How long did it take?

Thanks]]> Qwackertoo AFIBBERS FORUM Tue, 25 Aug 2026 12:59:32 +0000 https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201808,201808#msg-201808 Accidental electrical shocks after ablation (3 replies) https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201808,201808#msg-201808
I don't expect to get a shock when arc welding, but this morning there was some moisture on the steel and my gloves, and I felt that little tingle. I feel stupid for not considering this before. Maybe I can't risk welding any more.

I know electrocution occurs when electricity cross someone's chest and involves the heart. So am I running the risk of outside voltage burning some new pathways through my ablation scar tissue? Probably nobody knows for sure, but safer to avoid.]]> nonthumper AFIBBERS FORUM Sun, 23 Aug 2026 22:44:03 +0000 https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201801,201801#msg-201801 Magnesium Glycinate (no replies) https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201801,201801#msg-201801 Thanks

Steve]]> JAYHAWK AFIBBERS FORUM Fri, 21 Aug 2026 17:26:11 +0000 https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201786,201786#msg-201786 AFib after ablation (14 replies) https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201786,201786#msg-201786 I was diagnosed with paroxysmal AFib 3-4 years ago. My episodes 3-4 years ago might be 2x a year and start and stop on their own.
As I aged (I am currently 66) the episodes began to occur every 2-3 months apart lasting anywhere from a few hours to 12 hours or longer. But I'd go back into SR on my own. My cardiologist recommended cardiac ablation. Prior to the ablation I was put on Flecainide which I took daily 1x a day. The side effects were terrible. But the Flecainide stopped me from having AFib symptoms so the ablation was post poned. For one year I was AFib free which allowed me to look after my dying mother. After she passed on, I began to experience AFib again even with the Flecainide so the Cardiologist increased my dosage however, within two weeks of the increase I suffered Stress Induced Cardiomyopathy and was rushed into the hospital. The Cath Lab showed no blockages however, the Echo showed abnormalities in the left side of my heart and my Ejection Fraction was only at 35%. I had to wear a portable defibrillator in case of SCD and I was placed on several medications to regain heart function. I was told that my heart had undergone tremendous stress due to grief as well as something called "silent AFib". So the plan was to heal, then do the ablation. Thankfully, with medication and exercise, my EF increased from 35 to 56 and all abnormalities healed fully. So I underwent a cardiac ablation on January 31, 2026. The procedure was successful and the Surgeon was pleased saying they had targeted the problem area and so forth. For several weeks I registered Normal Sinus Rhythm on my Kardia Mobile Device. However, about a month or so following the ablation, I began to "feel" the skip beats and flutters and assumed it was part of the "blanking period", so I did not pay too much attention to it. I no longer read "normal sinus rhythm" but always registered "sinus rhythm with Supraventricular Ectopy". So, from January until July I continue experiencing the palps and the readings until July 4th I had my first AFib episode which lasted 5 hours. I was so upset and discouraged. I contacted my surgeon who ordered a heart monitor for 3 weeks (no idea what that was supposed to do because I recorded my symptoms with the Kardia Mobile and sent the files to her).....either way, I had no symptoms while wearing the very expensive heart monitor.
I did not eat or drink (I don't drink alcohol or caffeine beverages) that would trigger AFib so I have no idea what is happening. On August 17th, I had another AFib episode which I also recorded with the Kardia....this lasted 5 hours and thankfully I had Xanax which I took and it helped me get through it. I am beyond discouraged now. Having episodes so close together, after going through an ablation and being assured it would help to stop the AFib. Yet................here I am.................hardly AFib free. Any and all support, encouragement, advice is welcome :)]]> JeannieCT AFIBBERS FORUM Fri, 25 Sep 2026 13:12:41 +0000 https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201778,201778#msg-201778 Afib Has Returned (21 replies) https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201778,201778#msg-201778
In 2024 we moved from Texas to Northern Virginia. I am more than willing to travel to Austin for treatment, however if there are great options within driving distance, I would consider those.

The name I came up with is Dr. Hugh Calkins at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore.

Does anyone have any insights or suggestions?

Thanks, Mike]]> Oleanmike1 AFIBBERS FORUM Mon, 31 Aug 2026 15:46:01 +0000 https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201774,201774#msg-201774 Ablation EP - Toronto (5 replies) https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201774,201774#msg-201774 If there is anyone in this forum that has had ablation at the clinic, please let me know . And, is the clinic technologically equipped to do PFA ? And, your experience ? I have waited over 9 months for this first appointment. The EP I am seeing is Dr. Andrew Ah.]]> Carlorea AFIBBERS FORUM Wed, 02 Sep 2026 16:08:08 +0000 https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201768,201768#msg-201768 Are you SURE you don't feel your Watchman? (2 replies) https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201768,201768#msg-201768 nonthumper AFIBBERS FORUM Sun, 16 Aug 2026 14:07:22 +0000 https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201766,201766#msg-201766 Blood Thinner May Slow Cognitive Decline in Alzheimer’s Patients With AFib (no replies) https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201766,201766#msg-201766 www.healthline.com]]]> susan.d AFIBBERS FORUM Sat, 15 Aug 2026 14:09:15 +0000 https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201757,201757#msg-201757 The (Imaginary) Evils of Coffee (5 replies) https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201757,201757#msg-201757
Quote

Drinking up to five cups of caffeinated coffee a day, its authors wrote, has been linked to a lower risk of heart attack, diabetes, stroke and irregular heartbeat.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/has-science-finally-made-up-its-mind-about-coffees-health-benefits/]]> Carey AFIBBERS FORUM Sat, 15 Aug 2026 21:03:43 +0000 https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201753,201753#msg-201753 My TEE checkup of my Watchman (7 replies) https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,201753,201753#msg-201753
Went back in June for the Watchman placement, and touch up, if needed. I guess touch up was needed, as he gave me almost a hundred new pulses, or however I should say it.

About a week ago, I returned to Austin for my TEE to see if I could get off Eliquis. Somehow I had the idea that Natale would do the TEE, but he did not. The Dr. who did it seemed on point, though.

Today I had the follow up tele-health visit with one of the staff doctors to review the result. She said the Watchman placement is good, healing is good, and no leaks. But since my atria are still enlarged, I have to stay on Eliquis, but reduce the dose to 2.5 mg twice daily.

In three months they want me to have another TEE in Austin, or a CT scan locally to see if the atria have returned to normal size so I can get off Eliquis. Not sure I want the radiation from the CT scan since I've already had fluoroscopy twice this year.

Bottom line is my result seems to be good. Oh, and Boston Scientific has an excellent animation teaching about the Watchman procedure on their website. Shows how it is placed, and how heart tissue is supposed to heal over it to seal it off. I am not sure how to provide a link as it is in the middle of a page with other videos as well.]]> nonthumper AFIBBERS FORUM Sun, 23 Aug 2026 20:53:40 +0000