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A forum for discussing other health-related topics and information of general interest not directly related to AFIB.
Re: Endurance athletes have a four times higher risk of irregular heartbeat, and this may be why - 2 days ago
Mountain marathon.... The mere thought of that sounds painful.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Re: Resting Heart Rate post Ablation - 4 days ago
Quotegloaming I believe someone here, on this forum, reported that theirs was elevated beyond 80 BPM for almost a year...I forget who, but then it began to reduce. I'm one of them. A number of people have reported an elevated HR for upwards of a year, and as I recall one person even went beyond a year.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Re: Today - 9 days ago
Quotegloaming I don't know how much 'fly-by' traffic it gets where it helps those who might never bother to register and to participate, The site gets hundreds more visitors per month than there are registered users, so there are plenty of lurkers. There are also hundreds of registered users who have never made a single post. Some of them registered decades ago. And THANK YOUby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Re: Aspirin may be Better than Anticoagulation post ablation—New Study - 11 days ago
Quotesldabrowski It does come down to personal choice. Have you had a CIMT scan to see if you have plaque? No, but I know I have plaque because in 2017 Natale did a TEE that revealed "mild aortic plaque." You lost me with the word "entheogenic." That word refers to psychoactive drugs.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Re: Aspirin may be Better than Anticoagulation post ablation—New Study - 11 days ago
I don't find that study all that compelling, actually. Stroke prevention was slightly better with rivaroxaban, and bleed risk was only slightly worse. Also, noted that it was funded by Bayer. I read it as a "needs further study" kind of result. I'd like to see it replicated using apixaban instead of rivaroxaban.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Re: Aspirin may be Better than Anticoagulation post ablation—New Study - 11 days ago
Quotesldabrowski I know folks who have the watchman and still on blood thinners. what was the point of getting that done if you still need to take that medication? I don't need to; I choose to. I take a half-dose Eliquis because I'm a CHADS-Vasc 3 and not all strokes and systemic embolisms originate in the LAA. Also, blood clots aren't the only things that cause strokes. Ruptby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Re: Dead ended in the phone mazes. - 12 days ago
Quotenonthumper I assume the protocol is someone will read my record at some time, and then the office will give me a call. Yep! That's pretty much how it works. I didn't hear from Natale's office for almost two months after first contact. But once you come up on the top of their list, you'll start hearing from them, most likely multiple times by both phone and email.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Re: Dead ended in the phone mazes. - 13 days ago
It's unlikely they didn't receive them. Pretty much all medical records are electronic these days, so there's no paper or mail to get lost. And a couple of weeks delay isn't surprising for top-shelf EPs (or any specialist these days - took me 6 months to see a dermatologist).by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Re: Fatigue 18 months post pfa - 13 days ago
The fatigue isn't due to the ablation. Call your PCP and schedule a checkup and make sure it includes blood work for thyroid and iron levels. The causes of fatigue are many but anemia and thyroid issues are high on the list, especially if you're female. Also, you mentioned "thickening" due to blood pressure. I assume that means thickening of the ventricular walls of youby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Re: My Second TEE after watchman - 14 days ago
QuoteJAYHAWK The "major question".........why is there such a variance with pharmaceutical prices in the US. Because congress doesn't allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices. Other countries do negotiate prices. Congress had begun to fix that prior to the Trump admin but now those fixes are being rolled back. Yes, it's a total handout to the pharma industry at your expense.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Re: Hip Replacement - 14 days ago
Quotegloaming Thanks, Carey. Would you happen to have a handy reference for the figures you cite? I'd like to be able to include them in my repertoire of handy facts. Unfortunately, it comes from a presentation by Natale & Co. at the 2018 Heart Rhythm Society conference and to my knowledge hasn't been published more widely since then. I think I still have the conference proceediby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Re: My Second TEE after watchman - 15 days ago
I retired from a company that manufactures the machines that are used for such an assay, so I'm somewhat familiar with that business. I think a titer for apixaban is probably a very expensive test and probably not available outside a specialty lab. And finding one that will do such a test for an individual with a single sample would probably be difficult.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Re: Hip Replacement - 15 days ago
Quotegloaming If the LAA is still open, just isolated (electrically, so probably no more AF going to take place), is there still not a risk of clotting, or do you feel that the risk of clots in the LAA reduces to 'normal' when the heart is behaving properly? The answer to whether or not you need continuous anticoagulation is determined with a TEE that measure the blood flow velocityby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Re: Hip Replacement - 16 days ago
Quotegloaming I don't mean to tread on any toes here, but I'm confused by the terms 'closed', 'sealed', and 'isolated.' To me, the first means that the LAA has been surgically clamped, sutured, or otherwise made inaccessible to normal flow, the second means that the LAA is sealed from outflow and that there is no danger of clots emerging from it, and the lby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Re: Dealing with Nasal Congestion - 17 days ago
Antihistamines are fine but they dry out the sinuses even more, which makes mucus thicker and harder to expel. But anything labeled a decongestant isn't friendly to people with afib. If you've already got a humidifier going and that's not enough, I would recommend Anti-Fib's advice of using saline nasal spray. Or a neti pot if you don't want to spend money on nasal spraysby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Re: Hip Replacement - 20 days ago
Nobody here can answer that for you. Your first step should be to ask the surgeon if you need to stop the Eliquis and for how long. The next step would be to ask the EP who prescribed it what do do. Has your LAA been isolated? If not, there's a good chance you can just stop it for a few days.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Re: PFA Ablation by Dr. Natale in December - 21 days ago
And it used to be 6 hours. Now THAT was awful.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Re: Percutaneous Left Atrial Appendage Closure in AF Falls Short Again in CLOSURE-AF - 21 days ago
QuoteGeorgeN I think you reversed it, I believe the lifettime risk for anticoagulation after LAA isolation is 60% (referencing you) Oops! Looks like I did. Man, I hate it when I prove myself wrong.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Re: Percutaneous Left Atrial Appendage Closure in AF Falls Short Again in CLOSURE-AF - 22 days ago
Quotenonthumper I am still wondering about the electrical isolation of your LAA. In hindsight, would it been better if that had not been done? I thought the LAA served no purpose, and was idle. But isolating it made the blood pool there even more? Isolating my LAA was what stopped the 250 bpm flutter I was in when they wheeled me into the lab. So no, it would not have been better at all. Itby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Re: Percutaneous Left Atrial Appendage Closure in AF Falls Short Again in CLOSURE-AF - 22 days ago
Quotenonthumper Carey: May I point out your language is confusing? When you state your instructions prior to receiving a Watchman were never to miss a dose of Eliquis; I initially read it as you these were the instructions you need to follow after the Watchman was implanted. But I don't think that is what you meant, is it? I think you mean that if you did not have the Watchman implaby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Re: Percutaneous Left Atrial Appendage Closure in AF Falls Short Again in CLOSURE-AF - 23 days ago
Just based on the tone of that headline I knew who the author was going to be before I clicked the link. There's another factor to consider that no study has ever looked at because it would require a long study lasting years. That factor is the dismal long-term compliance rates with anticoagulants. I can't find the original figures right now but over 40% of all patients eventually sby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Re: My Second TEE after watchman - 23 days ago
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it." No leak = ain't broke.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Re: My Second TEE after watchman - 25 days ago
She should be able to send it to him with just his name (Andrea Natale) and his location (Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute). If there's any question of placement, he's by far the most important person who needs to see it.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Re: My Second TEE after watchman - 25 days ago
No way Natale installed a Watchman incorrectly and didn't catch it before leaving the lab, much less on the first TEE. How a Watchman is positioned is going to depend on your specific anatomy, so that's probably all she's seeing. You said the results would be sent to your cardiologist. Does that mean Natale's not going to receive them?by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Re: Watchman Leak: Low Dose Eliquis or Baby Aspirin? - 26 days ago
Good luck and let us know how the CT turns out.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Re: Questions - 26 days ago
Ah, okay, this adds a new wrinkle. Yeah, you shouldn't be bleeding in the intestines but that's a whole lot less dangerous than a stroke, and being in persistent afib at 70 means your stroke risk isn't trivial. And an ablation isn't going to get you away from the Eliquis anytime soon, if ever. So that makes you a perfect candidate for a Watchman device. You're exactly theby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Re: taking Eliquis & Curcumin daily - 27 days ago
Use with caution. https://www.drugs.com/drug-interactions/eliquis-with-turmeric-3438-16026-2682-0.htmlby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Re: Study challenges advice to avoid coffee for those with atrial fibrillation - 27 days ago
Quotesusan.d Your sister has your super power genes. Not that many can go on an exhausting 50 mile bike ride days after an ablation. Nah, she just wasn't symptomatic as long as her heart rate was kept under control and metoprolol did that nicely for her. I don't think I have any sort of super power genes. I've talked to many people who felt just as I always did following ablationby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Re: Questions - 27 days ago
Hi Don, welcome to the forum. Do you know if you're constantly in afib or does it come and go? Since you're asymptomatic I know it may be difficult to be sure, but has your cardio ever used the word "persistent?" I'm guessing the type of afib the cardio refers to is what's known as longstanding persistent afib. That means you're constantly in afib as opposedby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM