Show all posts by user

Re: Accidental electrical shocks after ablation - 6 weeks ago

Quotenonthumper 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. No, that's not a thing that happens unless we're talking lightning or industrial voltages, in which case you'd be dead anyway. Really, I wouldn't worry about it beyond just the normal safety measures.

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: My TEE checkup of my Watchman - 7 weeks ago

QuoteOleanmike1 If you have to travel from out of state, does Dr. Natale require a return to Austin for the TEE? Require? No, but recommend, yes. The TEE they need is very specific and they've found that many TEE operators say they understand what they need but often don't deliver and the TEE has to be repeated.

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Afib Has Returned - 7 weeks ago

Many -- probably most -- teaching hospitals won't allow patients to restrict Fellows from participating in the procedure. But keep in mind that a Fellow isn't a med student or even a resident. They're a practicing cardiologist and likely already board certified.

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Afib Has Returned - 7 weeks ago

I'm not familiar with him but his credentials and experience look good. He focuses on afib ablations, and that's who you want. You want the guy or gal who lives and breathes ablations and has done thousands of them, which he probably has. You also want a large institution that does many procedures per year, and I'm sure that describes Johns Hopkins. What you might consider doin

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Watchman clot still there - 8 weeks ago

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.

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Are you SURE you don't feel your Watchman? - 8 weeks ago

I am 100% certain I never feel it. Even right after the procedure I never felt it. Sounds more like arthritis in the cartilage surrounding the sternum and ribs. My wife has experienced that for several years and she describes it the same way. And if jabbing it with your thumb affects how it feels then it's definitely not your heart or anything deeper than your ribcage.

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Watchman clot still there - 8 weeks ago

Quotesusan.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.

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Watchman clot still there - 8 weeks ago

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 th

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: The (Imaginary) Evils of Coffee - 8 weeks ago

Yeah, if you go on any forum in the world and declare that coffee doesn't cause or trigger afib, you'll get a zillion people screaming that it does for them. Since there are people who are triggered by things as harmless as cold drinks and lying on their left side, I'm not going to say no one is triggered by caffeine, but I think it's much rarer than people think and a lot of

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

The (Imaginary) Evils of Coffee - 8 weeks ago

QuoteDrinking 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/

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: My TEE checkup of my Watchman - 8 weeks ago

Quotenonthumper 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. Assuming the CT place you use locally has modern equipment, that's really not much radiation. I wouldn't be co

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Allina Health? - 2 months ago

Can you add the link you refer to and a link to the list of high rep facilities posted here? I don't recall such a list.

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Slowdown in Watchman sales? - 2 months ago

Quotemjamesone Had I opted for Watchman, I'd be stuck with it. True, but that begs the question: So what? It has no impact on your life whatsoever. You can't see it, can't feel it, has no side effects, it's MRI safe, doesn't show up on TSA scans -- nothing. For all intents and purposes, it's not there. I think it's great that someone like you with a CHA

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Slowdown in Watchman sales? - 2 months ago

Click here to read the article without the paywall.

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Slowdown in Watchman sales? - 2 months ago

Quotenonthumper Article mentions that the newest model of Watchman appears to be slightly less successful than a previous version. Now I wonder which version I have, and what the difference is. I didn't see that at all. The only comparison was a study that compared Watchman alone vs. anticoagulants alone, which found that the anticoagulants had a slight edge. But that doesn't take bl

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: clots - 2 months ago

Quotestahoo I consider this a conspiracy. I am scared of Coumadin/Warfarin. Is there really a five-time chance of a stroke during these episodes that are mentioned in the commercials or is it a scare tactic? Am I rolling the dice here? Some episodes last like twelve hours with heart rate about 133. It's not a conspiracy, it's not a scare tactic, and yes, afib does increase your st

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Newly approved pill cuts LDL cholesterol levels by more than half - 2 months ago

Jim, there's a cardiologist at NYU I think you'd like. I have SiriusXM radio and often listen to segments of the "Doctor Radio" show. It's broken into two-hour live segments oriented toward broad subjects like cardiology, pulmonology, etc. They're hosted by some notable doctor in that field. So there's this cardiologist, Dr. Fred Feit, who hosts the cardiology s

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Low dose Aspirin - 2 months ago

Quotecaliforniagal My question is: Might it be possible/ feasible to NOT take the smalll amt of 40.5 mg aspirin if I take a sizable amount of blood thinning supplements? C; E, (which I ony get in small quantities in a mult vi-min); Co-Q10; Ginko Biloba; fish oils; alpha lipoic acid; etc., etc.). Could labs be done to monitor my clotting factors in an experiment such as this? Sure, it might

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: colonscopy timing - 2 months ago

I agree with Jim that a single episode doesn't justify an ablation. And why stress about the Zio? It's just a patch. Worst case is the adhesive irritates your skin.

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: colonscopy timing - 2 months ago

An ablation raises stroke risk temporarily because it injures tissue and creates inflammation. How long that is isn't widely agreed upon. But you'll notice that everyone gets put on anticoagulants following an ablation regardless of their CHADS-Vasc score, afib burden, or anything else. Many EPs think 90 days is long enough if your CHADS-Vasc is low, but others believe the increased ris

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: colonscopy timing - 2 months ago

Okay, I'll say it: You can't ruin an ablation. There, that said, just do it now. The risks of going off anticoagulants will be higher after the ablation than before.

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: New Study - 2 months ago

I'm no Medicare expert but I'm skeptical that they require documentation of recent afib activity. It was my understanding that they've been covering the Watchman for some time now based solely on an afib diagnosis and a CHADS-Vasc score >2. You certainly meet the CHADS-Vasc requirement. But he does this for a living so he probably knows more than I do. You could always just call

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: New Study - 2 months ago

QuoteGeocappy BTW, reread the new EP’s notes and he said I preferred loop recorder over watchman. That makes no sense. They do 100% different things. Maybe he meant you prefer loop recorder over Watchman at this time.

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Watchman Update - 2 months ago

That TEE at two years isn't to confirm placement. It's to screen for DRTs (device-related thrombus).

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Newly approved pill cuts LDL cholesterol levels by more than half - 2 months ago

QuoteJoe Familial hypercholesterinemia is probably less than 1%. That nay be but on a less dramatic scale than the coworker I described, most people with high cholesterol levels find it very difficult to diet and exercise their way out of it. The body makes cholesterol and everyone has their own set points they tend to gravitate to. Environmental and lifestyle aspects have little effect, so th

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Newly approved pill cuts LDL cholesterol levels by more than half - 2 months ago

Cholesterol levels are largely genetic, and it's very, very hard to treat genetic diseases. For example, I worked with a guy back in the '80s who had a heart attack at 32. He wasn't fat, didn't smoke, no risk factors I know of. But it turns out after his heart attack they discovered that he had cholesterol levels through the roof, something like 800-900 total cholesterol.

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Headed to Austin for Watchman implant - 2 months ago

That nut is how the catheter attaches to it. It would be hard to design it out.

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Headed to Austin for Watchman implant - 2 months ago

The final billing will be whatever's left on your deductible and any copays you agreed to. In other words, probably almost nothing. If you'd asked they could have shown you one when you were, but since they cost a couple of grand each not many people have one lying around. Plenty of pictures of them online. Click the photo to enlarge

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Cyclosporiasis - 2 months ago

What's definitely not heart safe is prolonged diarrhea. It's probably going to be a case of choosing the lesser of two evils.

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM

Re: Cyclosporiasis - 2 months ago

I'm unaware of any antibiotic being a problem with afib.

by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM