Mike hansby

I have had one 40 second episode of afib in the last 5 years. I know this because I have a pacemaker. My doctor recommends I go on eliquis as a preventive measure. I question the need for eliquis based on one episode. Does anyone have any thoughts?

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mikehansby
I have had one 40 second episode of afib in the last 5 years. I know this because I have a pacemaker. My doctor recommends I go on eliquis as a preventive measure. I question the need for eliquis based on one episode. Does anyone have any thoughts?

What is your age, other health conditions (metabolic fitness, hypertension & etc.)? What is your CHA2DS2-VASc SCORE ?

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mikehansby
I have had one 40 second episode of afib in the last 5 years. I know this because I have a pacemaker. My doctor recommends I go on eliquis as a preventive measure. I question the need for eliquis based on one episode. Does anyone have any thoughts?

I also have a pacemaker and my EP told me that it will only register episodes of a fib within the range that she has set. So it is possible that you are having more episodes that are not registering on your pacemaker. For instance, I have caught afib episodes on my Kardia that did not register on my pacemaker.

One 40-second episode in 5 years? You barely met the criteria for labeling it an arrhythmia at all (>30 seconds). How long ago was this episode?

A rather surprising recommendation on the surface, but please answer the questions George asked because that may figure into why your doc is recommending this. And Daisy makes a point that you may be experiencing more afib than you realize.

Thanks all. My score is 3 or 4. I am a male over 70 with heart disease and controlled high blood pressure. My pacemaker nurse tells me I have just had the one episode. My doc is recommending a watchman. Anyone had experience with that? Thanks all. This is very helpful.

Age 70 and score is 3 - male with coronary artery disease and controlled high blood pressure. Nurse at heart rhythm clinic tells me this my only episode. I do have other rhythm issues (vtac).

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mikehansby
Thanks all. My score is 3 or 4. I am a male over 70 with heart disease and controlled high blood pressure. My pacemaker nurse tells me I have just had the one episode. My doc is recommending a watchman. Anyone had experience with that? Thanks all. This is very helpful.

Quite a few of us belong to the “watchman club”. I had mine done in February and went home a few hours after I woke up instead of staying overnight because it wasn’t necessary. I had some pain because the catheter threading up the watchman came upon a bent area but I had the best skilled EP so he knew how to handle it. No big deal. Easy procedure and recovery for me.

My only episode was last November. My bmi is 22, I am very physically fit, and I consume no alcohol. I would be interested in hearing about people’s experience with eliquis. I’ve read quite a few horror stories on line. I assume everyone on this website is on a blood thinner except for those who have had a watchman or similar device?

Pick a drug, any drug at all, and you'll find horror stories online. People love horror stories, especially repeating and enhancing stories they've heard. Eliquis is a very safe drug, safer than aspirin.

You say you're 70 and have heart disease and hypertension, so that's 3 points. But then you mention artery disease, so that's another point giving you a total of 4. That's a moderately high number, so although your actual afib history is practically nil, you've got a pacemaker and other stuff going on, so I think your doc is just being conservative. They know the risk of embolism far outweighs the risk of drugs like Eliquis.

But the Watchman recommendation is rather unusual. From what you've told us I would be very surprised if Medicare will approve it. Have you left something out? Any prior ablations, TIAs, clotting disorders, anything like that?

Also, I assume this doctor is an electrophysiologist (EP) who does ablations and Watchman implants? Is that correct?

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mikehansby
I have had one 40 second episode of afib in the last 5 years. I know this because I have a pacemaker. My doctor recommends I go on eliquis as a preventive measure. I question the need for eliquis based on one episode. Does anyone have any thoughts?

Do you have a Metronics Azure XR DR pacemaker? It’s programmable and has burst therapy settings. If you have a Metronics then the company sends to your doctor’s office a Metronics tech who can tweak it. Mine was set to AAIR<=>DDDR. I have a low rate upper track and upper Sensor. I requested a lower hr (130) for the upper sensor because I am not active and any tachycardia over 130 is too symptomatic for me. Maybe yours is set at 180-190. I disliked the little “alien” at first but now it’s my AI friend. It’s therapy settings zaps me out of Afib (pace-Terminated episodes) and when the Metronics tech is scheduled, I ask for an arrhythmia history printout. I’ve noticed events as short as .3 seconds. The Burst therapy works, I’m told as long as the tachycardia/afib/etc is not 1:1 —atrium beating same hr as ventricular chambers. Mine successfully converted me 84% —the last download session mentioned.

Maybe you can get the pacemaker clinic or Metronics to tweak your parameters.

The reason for my concern about eliquis is that I have chrones disease and occasional gi bleeding. I can’t take aspirin or I get anemic. In terms of the type of pacemaker it is a Medtronic Evers MRI XT DR. Model number DDMB1D4. The technician did program it to record any rythm irregularities. It records vtac which lasts only a few seconds. It sends in a monthly report to my doc. That is how they detected the 40 second afib episode last November. I am scheduled to start taking Entivio shortly which will hopefully get my chrones in remission and then I will start the eliquis. Watchman is scheduled for September 21. If I have another afib episode I will start the eliquis immediately. Does this sound like a reasonable plan? Thanks for any suggestions.

The doc is an EP who does both watchman and ablation. Khairallah in Tallahassee Fl.

Ah, okay, the Watchman makes sense with Crohn's disease. But I would be very cautious about an ablation due to a single 40-second episode.

I think if I were in your shoes I wouldn't start Eliquis or do any sort of procedure until the afib proves itself to be real. A single brief episode like that could be a one-off event caused by a temporary electrolyte imbalance that will never happen again.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/31/2022 04:57PM by Carey.

My thoughts exactly but I was referred to a second cardiologist who also recommended the eliquis, as has my GI doctor. I am not scheduled for ablation, only the watchman.

at the very least they could offer up a two week Zio patch to wear and see if you have any intermittent afib. Before I had many episodes I would take the blood thinner during and after an episode but they were few and far between. JMO.. but you could "prove" to them at at least in a 2 week period you don't have it. I find those very easy to tolerate. The one that doesn't go directly to the doctor daily (but they get a summary at the end), is a charge of $300 only to insurance. They try and make it affordable. I have worn them twice and they have very helpful. And you don't have to carry anything around. Just a patch the size of a deck of cards on your upper left chest.

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mikehansby
My only episode was last November. My bmi is 22, I am very physically fit, and I consume no alcohol. I would be interested in hearing about people’s experience with eliquis. I’ve read quite a few horror stories on line. I assume everyone on this website is on a blood thinner except for those who have had a watchman or similar device?

I was on Eliquis for about 2 years. I am no longer on it following a successful ablation. Eliquis is a tiny little pill that you take twice a day. For me it felt like I was not on any medication at all. Absolutely no side effects. I think for its purpose it's a great medication. At least that was my experience.

I've been on Eliquis following my last afib episode which lasted about 8hours 3yr ago. No side effects. When I was hospitalized for Covid 2yr ago, one of the doctors said I was lucky to be on Eliquis because it kept me safe from any blood clots that might develop with some Covid patients. I had never heard of that before, but I was glad to be taking it. I have read somewhere that if I ever get the Watchman, I will no longer need the blood thinner. In the meantime, this 69yo granny is still taking it. My EP says I need to be taking Eliquis so I wouldn't have a stroke. I have seen a couple of brief "possible atrial fibrillation" on my Kardia, but nothing like the episode 3yr ago.

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mikehansby
I assume everyone on this website is on a blood thinner except for those who have had a watchman or similar device?

It really depends on the situation, other health issues and especially their CHA2DS2-VASc score. There are plenty of younger afibbers who have a score of 0 and do not use anticoagulation meds.