Watchman clot still there

Nobody verbally tells me squat. I saw my hematologist today because he recommended I see him every 6 months. It seems the reason is not my DVT while on 2.5ng dosage of Eliquis-but instead the cardiac tests still shows a minimal clot on my LAAO device (watchman). My hematologist wrote there is no need for treatment but instead see him every 6 months. He had a conversation with the head of cardiovascular and another head guy of an unknown department I will Google later and took their advice.

It was the shortest visit yet. He asked if I was ok, and he typed up a page in a foreign language, handed it to me and said see you in 6 months. I just translated the page he gave with his and two other specialists joint opinion stating I still have a clot.

I had increased my Eliquis to 5mg BID for the past two years after getting DVT while on 2.5 BID Eliquis after the second DVT. I speculate Eliquis is not going to dissolve the clot. If it was effective, it would had done so by now. I’m getting too many bruises so I asked if I could reduce the strength and he just said no.

What’s the advantage of a check in visit to say I’m ok and stroke free every 6 months? That’s not preventative medicine. I do know from multiple TEEs I had in January and February that I was leaking by my watchman. That fact wasn’t on my report today. I don’t know if they came to their joint decision based on my TEEs or if the cardiac MRI I had in March showed it.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/10/2026 02:39PM by susan.d.

Apixaban cannot dissolve clots. It can prevent them from enlarging or new ones from forming. But, it cannot dissolve extant clots.

Would you feel better knowing you're not likely to get more bruising, but that you might invite further DVT?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/12/2026 04:02PM by gloaming.

I’m a good patient and usually very compliant AFTER it is explained to me. They should had mentioned my Watchman clot still exists.

If told to take Eliquis I will do it no questions asked. I only complained because I’m pretty bruised after my iron infusions. My father had over a dozen strokes and ended up a vegetable and my brother had about 6 optical strokes and ended up blind so I am ok taking Eliquis because I saw first hand how bad a stroke can affect one’s quality of life. Surprised I had a DVT developed while in 2.5 BID though... It shouldn’t had grown big enough for an ultrasound and physical exam to detect while on Eliquis. It was a big lump.

Susan: Is there a reason you cannot consult a different hematologist if this current one is not responsive to you?

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nonthumper
Susan: Is there a reason you cannot consult a different hematologist if this current one is not responsive to you?

I have an excellent hematologist in the states when I last visited. I saw him a few months ago before returning abroad. Had it was mentioned to me that I had a clot, I am 100% confident my USA hematologist would had acted upon it. So frustrating. You are right, I have to see someone else. I don’t have medical clearance to fly back. I was denied by my pulmonologist last month. I need that clearance to bring o2 aboard. So I’m looking for someone local. I am surprised I wasn’t given the blood thinner Rx for shots in my abdomen that dissolved my last DVT.

In the meantime I want to try to get another TEE and checkup on this clot. I had googled the two doctors my hematologist reached out too. They were a staff radiologist and a staff cardiologist-who both said no treatment was necessary.

The trouble is, anticoagulants don't dissolve clots, and that includes the heparin you injected. All they do is prevent clots from enlarging and then your body does the actual dissolving.

The only drugs that does dissolve clots are tPA and a couple of close cousins, but it's 1) extremely dangerous and 2) wicked expensive. It's $8K-$10K per dose, and if you want to see a drug that will make you bleed then tPA is the one. It's only given to stroke patients after they've been proven to have an embolic stroke. Give it to someone having a hemorrhagic stroke and congrats on killing the patient.

So that's the dilemma with finding clots. If they're really dangerous they can be "vacuumed" out, but that's a significant procedure. If they're not judged especially dangerous, the best course is usually just to put the person on an anticoagulant and wait. But doing absolutely nothing shouldn't be an option, so I think those docs saying no treatment was needed were wrong.

Carey- isn’t Eliquis 5mg BID an anticoagulant? What should I be taking?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/14/2026 09:06AM by susan.d.

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susan.d
Carey- isn’t Eliquis 5mg BID an anticoagulant? What should I be taking?

Yes, it is. There's nothing you can take that will dissolve that clot. Your body will do that over time. But the Eliquis will prevent the clot from enlarging and new clots from forming, so it's the perfect thing for you to be taking.

Carey-we are talking about 5mg BID. I had a clot grow big enough to physically feel the lump under my armpit while on 2.5BID. It kept growing. Only heparin shots dissolved it. I had 6 weeks of shots 2/day in my abdomen then resumed Eliquis afterwards.

Heparin is a more powerful anticoagulant but I guarantee it did not dissolve that clot. Your body did that. The heparin just allowed that to happen without new clot being added to the old clot.

Susan- I know your frustration. If your doc is not talking to you clearly about your condition and is giving you information in a language other than yours, they are working for their benefit, not yours. Definitely find another doc. There are good ones. Good luck. -Sven

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swhanson
Susan- I know your frustration. If your doc is not talking to you clearly about your condition and is giving you information in a language other than yours, they are working for their benefit, not yours. Definitely find another doc. There are good ones. Good luck. -Sven

I saw my EP and he read though my records. Apparently the staff radiologist that my hematologist asked for an opinion my EP thinks highly of. He said if this radiologist thinks nothing should be done, then he trusts her. He said she is the most cautious person he knows and if there was any risk factor, she would had spoken.

However my ep is concerned about my newest symptoms. He wants to rule out pacing induced cardiomyopathy. My last echo was in February and my EF was 50, after my PVC ablation in January showed 39. So in one month it jumped from 39 to 50. Tuesday I’m getting a new echo. It won’t show clots but I couldn’t convince my EP for a TEE. It’s my third clot in my body-two while on Eliquis.

If my EF jumped up so quickly can it drop as quickly for pacing induced cardiomyopathy? I had a 50% PVC burden before my ablation that had dropped my EF. My EP doesn’t believe that high doses of prednisone (120mg in 13 hours) and bronchitis could lower my EF.