QuoteGlen24 Thanks all. Does anyone know if the top cardiologists in the US are now using primarily PFA for simple PVI ablations? i.e Dr. Natale etc. My understanding is this is true for Natale and he will switch to RF if needed outside the PVI.by GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
Here is to your heart continuing to be quiet!!by GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
One of the things I've noticed if I use a plethysmograph (and your fingers will notice this if taking a pulse as well) is that in afib, there is large variability in pulse wave amplitude as well as pulse rate. The amplitude can get very small and hard for a device to detect (and hard for your fingers to detect as well). If the plethysmograph device displays amplitude, you can see this pulsby GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteSearching9 @ GeorgeN & Cary Yes she is currently in AFIB. I'll have to check some of her hospital 12 lead ECG recordings taken while in AFIB, but I would bet that the heart rate reported is the average of the R-R (instantaneous) rates. (or simple count of QRS complexes identified during recording period). My Kardia device reports the average of the RR beat rates (or more likby GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteSearching9 Here's what I found.: The heart rate was recorded at 10:14:19.00 as 66. However the beat to beat BPM ranged from 83 to 136 for the two minutes leading up to the 10:14:19.00. How can that be? Is the 66 supposed to be an average during the two prior minutes or is it an instantaneous reading at that time? If the latter, was she in afib during the reading? If so, Iby GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteCarey Quotefor the moving average to shift to 74 in a two second period, would suggest the during that "new" period rate would have to be near 0. And very well might have been. A 2-second pause wouldn't be unusual in afib, and even a single beat near the end of that 2-second period could produce that much change. Keep in mind the device is probably calculating in millisecoby GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteSearching9 So to shift the moving average from 97 to 74 would require a wild swing in the instantaneous rate. Oui ??? Yes, which is common in afib. Even sampling every second, you miss a lot of data, especially if rates are high. I have an SpO2 ring that captures 4 second data and the comparison of those data vs RR (beat to beat) data captured at the same time can be pretty dramatby GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteSearching9 So my question is akin to that, over how many seconds does the watch observe beats for each recorded heart beat rate? This link might be useful. "When you use the Workout app, Apple Watch measures your heart rate continuously during the workout and for 3 minutes after the workout ends to determine a workout recovery rate." So perhaps this feature is something to eby GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotedocboss No issues with the dofetilide but the losartan and Eliquis are not great. Curious what issues you had with Eliquis?by GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotegloaming So, I would like to understand what the authors mean by 'coronary artery disease'. Is it the slightest indication of plaque...somewhere...anywhere...or are we talking about 40% occlusion and up? This seems to be the one referenced study that looked at the question you are asking. QuoteTrial Population Patients 35 to 82 years of age were eligible if they had any evidby GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotecolindo Is there any anyone who has had success with colchicine stoping their Afib. I have never heard of anyone. Looks like it may be beneficial in post surgical cases. Source The Effect of Colchicine on Atrial Fibrillation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Abstract Colchicine is a potent anti-inflammatory agent whose benefits have been explored for various conditions, incby GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotegloaming Also, it was the link to pulmonary vein energizing and AF that caught my ear. Very interesting! Thanks Gloaming!by GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotegloaming Celiac is an intolerance, not an allergy. It's tough trying to educate servers in restaurants and their supervisors when they don't seem to know the difference, and when so many restaurant goers think it's simply kewl to ask for GF foods. As someone with lifelong autoimmune issues, as I approach my 8th decade, I'm probably 95% less symptomatic than I have everby GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
Sending good thoughts your way for a successful solution.by GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotehds I have an appointment with a cardiologist and a MD to ask the same question. Please report here when you get the MD's answer.by GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotegloaming What I meant is that the ill kidney has more work than it can handle with high intake of K, and in order to avoid hyperkalemia, the patient should monitor their intake of K closely, and probably should have periodic assessments of their serum K levels. I concur completely. People should know their kidney and electrolyte status prior to supplementing with electrolytes like potassby GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotegloaming A couple of observations: too much potassium is hard on the kidneys. Curious about this. Know that poor kidney function can lead to hyperkalemia as the kidneys don't excrete the excess. However was not aware that potassium, per se, could damage the kidneys. Would you please elaborate.by GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
My solution is to put 2 tsp of food grade potassium citrate powder in a liter of water and consume it over the day. 2 tsp is about 4 grams of potassium. The citrate form is generally what you should be getting in food, as I understand it. By consuming it over the day, it is like "timed release." I've been doing this for many years.by GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
From The End of Alzheimer's Program book: “Thus general anesthesia and its associated surgical procedures represent a potent dementing program, associated with a doubling of the risk for dementia. Therefore, if you are contemplating or require general anesthesia, you may wish to consider: Talking with your surgeon ahead of time. Is general anesthesia necessary? Is it possible to use lby GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotegloaming It looks to me like there is a pre-condition, and not merely a pre-disposition, for neurological and cognitive impairment in the mix when considering ApoE4's predictive contribution for general anesthesia. I wouldn't know what percentage that might amount to, perhaps 5-15%? One of the things, when looking at the aging literature, is that healthy centenarians seem to be aby GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotegloaming More seriously, the heavy majority of people have little to worry about, except that if they elect to remain in AF, the outcome is surely to be a harsher reality and a poor one. I would say it depends on the individual and their genetics. Those with ApoE4 alleles may need to be more careful: (heterozygotes are roughly 25% of the population, while homozygotes are 2-3%)by GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
A source I'd use to look for people in Natale's universe are the presenters at the ISLAA (International Symposium on Left Atrial Appendage) conference. Here is a link to this list for 2024: It would be a place to start, then you could see where they did their training.by GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotekenn_green Re: What Does This ecg Before and After "AIFB" Mean I've always looked at PAC and PVC frequency as an indicator of how "happy" the heart is. I've used electrolytes as part of my plan to keep afib under control for 20 years. I noticed 20 years ago (and more recently), if I had high PAC's or PVC's counts in my pulse before bed, I was veryby GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotekenn_green Any idea what these "short" QRS pulses are? Looks like premature atrial contractions (PACs) to me.by GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
Not on afib or DVT specifically, but more on aging generally & thrombosis risk. This is from a post I'm copying from another group. Note, much of this research was done in mice. This may be the root cause of why points for age are added in the CHADS2VASC metric for afib stroke risk. An age-progressive platelet differentiation path from hematopoietic stem cells causes exacerbated thby GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotesusan.d Unfortunately Eliquis can’t dissolve or prevent a DVT. Traveling on long flights or being bedridden after an ablation or surgery could potentially cause a Dvt clot plus other factors I speculate as well. How I got screwed under my armpit is a mystery. The newer OAC's, like Eliquis were shown to be "non-inferior" to warfarin in tests. "Warfarin reduced the risby GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteMeganMN I have read many things about eating/drinking/SVT/Afib. Is that primarily a vagus nerve connection/dysfunction? I've been noticing that my bigeminy/PACs/have been much more disturbing/symptomatic immediately after eating/drinking, even just ice water... My experience is that when I'm over consuming calcium (for me), things that were never a trigger before can become oneby GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotesusan.d Why didn’t 2.5 Eliquis BID dissolve this thrombosis? My understanding is that OAC's don't dissolve a thrombosis, enzymes in the body do. What OAC's (warfarin included) do is they can keep a thrombosis from forming. Thrombolytic meds can dissolve clots. I'm certainly not an expert.by GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
From your link, "Thrombolysis, or thrombolytic therapy, is the main treatment for ASVT. Your healthcare provider delivers a clot-dissolving drug directly to the blocked vein through a catheter (thin, flexible tube)." Does this make sense?by GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteWhyMe Thanks everyone! I wonder why is Kardia calling them Afib? You would think their algorithm would use the RR plot to distinguish between PACs and Afib. The RR plot for Afib is all over the place and easy to pinpoint, compared the RR plot for PACs. I think it is a pretty simple algorithm, just looking at variability, not the variability of the variability (second derivative). Iby GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM